On his first visit to China in 14 years and in an exclusive interview with Leaders Talk, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he greatly values the opportunity to visit China.
The fact that we're the first European government and leader to be received by China in 2026 symbolizes the strength of the relationship between Ireland and China.
He spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's strategic vision.
Well, very engaging and very warm. I believe he's a strategic leader. He had very clear principles and particularly in terms of internationally and globally.
He said Ireland is willing to play a constructive role in promoting the healthy development of EU-China relations.
I don't sense any real desire in Europe to decouple. That's not a practical consideration. It's not possible. We're all interdependent.
Exclusive interview with the Irish Taoiseach. Stay tuned.
Hello and welcome to Leaders Talk where we meet leaders, thinkers, and trailblazers. I'm Zou Yun. Here we are at Beijing Capital International Airport where we'll be conducting an exclusive interview with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin who's currently visiting the country as the first European leader to visit China at the beginning of the new year. What are Prime Minister Martin's expectations and takeaways from this trip? What are his prospects for promoting a mutually beneficial strategic partnership between our two countries as Ireland will resume rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of this year? What role does he expect to play in the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations? Let's find all these answers from our conversation with him. Mr. Taoiseach, thank you so much for joining us on Leaders Talk and welcome to China. As we know that your trip is quite significant this time because it marks the first visit by an Irish prime minister to the country in 14 years. So at the start of the conversation, can you show us a little bit about the top objectives of your trip to China and what are the key messages that you hope to convey to the Chinese side?
Well, first of all, I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to visit China as Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland. The objectives are both political and economic and societal. We want to deepen the bilateral relationship between Ireland and China. I've been involved politically over the years in different ministries with China: economic, education, health, and so forth. As minister for foreign affairs, I was here two years ago. First came in 2005 on a major delegation represented by then prime minister and five government ministers, and I was enterprise minister on that occasion. So from that date onwards, the level of trade and engagement between Ireland and China has grown exponentially. So the objective is to cement that partnership and to strategically look ahead in terms of how we can work in synergy and in partnership on quite a range of issues. So there's an economic dimension, there's a political dimension. I appreciate the fact that President Xi met with me on day one. In addition to that, so far I've met with business people, companies located in Ireland, Chinese companies, and Irish companies trading in China and located in China. I've met with educational institutions, higher education institutions earlier today. There's a very strong relationship between Irish universities and Chinese universities and a good two-way flow of students. So it's been hectic and busy, but I appreciate the opportunity to be here. Those are the objectives.
You just mentioned your meeting with President Xi yesterday. Actually during the meeting, the opening remarks President Xi highlighted that you are the first European leader to be received by China in this new year, reflecting the high regard of both sides on China-Ireland relations. So how do you understand the significance of this recognition and what are your major takeaways from your meeting with President Xi?
Well, we believe that the fact that we're the first European government and leader to be received by China in 2026 symbolizes the strength of the relationship between Ireland and China. We appreciate that opportunity. The meeting with President Xi was a high-level meeting that focused on the bilateral relationship, focused also on the European Union-China relationship and the need to put that relationship in a broader framework and on a firm footing and to try and resolve some of the trading issues between Europe. As a member state of the European Union, we would be very much of that mind that both sides should work hard to develop a working framework governing trade issues in particular. We also discussed the cultural relationships and the literary connections between Ireland and China. President Xi spoke about various authors, Oscar Wilde in particular, George Bernard Shaw, and he referenced The Gadfly, which was a famous novel of the 20th century written by an author from my city in Ireland, Cork City. So it was an interesting discussion. And then President Xi spoke about Riverdance coming to Beijing again. And likewise, Chinese is now studied in the Irish curriculum, second level curriculum, as a language. So there are growing cultural, language, and literary links between our two countries.
So after your meeting with President Xi, what is your impression of him as a leader and how do you understand the significance of his political philosophy?
Well, I feel he was, first of all, very engaging and very warm. I believe he's a strategic leader. He had very clear principles and particularly in terms of internationally and globally, the need for the United Nations to regain authority and to reduce conflict and wars in the world. So that dovetails with Ireland's principles. Also, President Xi was very clear on China's commitment to multilateralism. He fondly recalled his visit to Ireland in 2012. That was a major visit and it kickstarted that, well certainly marked a new phase in the Irish-China relations. And you might remember he went to Croke Park, which is the national stadium for Gaelic games in Ireland.
As we know that the one-China principle is the cornerstone of China-Ireland relations. So how does your government plan to adhere to this very important principle?
Well, we've been very consistent in our support of the one-China policy and will remain consistent in that regard. We're very clear and have been from the outset in terms of the one-China policy, and that will continue.
Ireland is located in Western Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Irish Sea to the east, serving as a gateway to the European continent. With its land blanketed in greenery and forests, Ireland appears from space like a green gem set along the eastern coast of the Atlantic, earning it the nickname the Emerald Isle. It is the birthplace of the ancient Celtic people, a cradle of music passed down for millennia, and the homeland of literary giants such as W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, and Oscar Wilde. After gaining independence in 1922, this once predominantly agrarian nation successfully transformed itself into a high-tech economy through an open investment policy, competitive corporate tax rates, and a stable system of governance, ushering in the era of the Celtic Tiger. The world's first free trade zone, the Shannon Free Trade Zone, is located on Ireland's west coast. In the spirit of openness and free trade, China and Ireland have forged a partnership marked by connectivity and mutual learning.
The Shannon experience actually has provided valuable insights into China's economic reform experiences. Back in 2012, President Xi visited the Shannon Development Zone and stressed the need for both sides to strengthen mutual learning, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and strive for long-term healthy and stable development. Prime Minister Martin, how do you envision deepening and advancing the mutually beneficial cooperation between our two sides?
Way back in the 1980s, when Chinese delegations came to Ireland, they went to the Shannon Free Development Zone, which was the first zone in Ireland to bring in foreign direct investment. That inspired Chinese governments to do similar zones in China. So invariably they do keep referring to Shannon as an example of how sharing experiences can help countries develop and grow. He also referenced the Shannon Free Development Zone. So he recalled all of that, and it was a warm meeting.
During the meeting, President Xi also pointed out that this year marks the beginning of China's 15th five-year plan, in which China is going to continue to promote high-quality development and expand high-level opening up. So Mr. Prime Minister, what new opportunities of collaboration do you foresee emerging from this new phase? And what are the specific sectors and industries that you believe hold the greatest potential?
Well, I think, first of all, we admire the Chinese approach, the strategic approach that China takes in planning, particularly its five-year plans, and generally executes those plans with precision. The areas that we would identify where there is a degree of complementarity: we would be very interested in the AI revolution that is taking place in the world and how best to use and apply that technology. We know China is a leader now in AI. So we would be interested in working with China because we're a highly digitalized economy in Ireland. We're strong in technology. We have very strong human capital in AI. And so we believe there are synergies there. Agriculture and food remains a core industry in Ireland. We have probably one of the most carbon-efficient modern food production systems in the world, both beef and dairy, and pig meat and poultry. So there will always be opportunities there given the size of the market in China and the quality of Irish produce, because it's grass-based, it's pasture-based. The other area is education. I was very interested today—I signed, or rather, I witnessed the signature of quite a number of agreements between Chinese universities and Irish universities. Many of the programs are delivered here in China. There are up to 12,000 students now participating in these joint programs, and the numbers are on the rise. We think it can rise even further.
So as a former teacher and also the former minister of education, maybe this particular sector actually holds really dear to your heart.
It absolutely does. I have a passion for education. It was my very first ministry when I went into government in 1997. So I've always retained an interest in education as one of the great enablers in life. It benefits individuals. It benefits society. If one wants to understand the development of modern Ireland, it began really in the 1960s with a combination of investment in education and a continued consistent investment in education.
You have also expressed strong support for Ireland to expand exports of high-quality products to China. In recent years, we're happy to see an increasing number of Irish products like whiskey, seafood, dairy products, etc., entering the Chinese market through platforms like the International Import Expo, the International Consumer Products Expo, etc. So how does Ireland plan to increase the attractiveness and also the competitiveness of Irish products into the Chinese market?
I think fundamentally the quality of products is very important. The source of products—we are fortunate that we have a grass-based agricultural system which works well for tillage and for beef and for dairy products in particular. Very rich dairy products, very high-quality nutrients in our milk. Infant formula, for example, has been a very strong product that has emanated from Ireland, to China in particular, and globally it's extraordinary output from Ireland in respect of infant formula. Also, you mentioned whiskey—Ireland has very high-quality whiskeys, but many others. We've had an explosion of distilleries, and again that's connected to the land, connected to good products emanating from our tillage farmers. But quality is important. On technology, we have developed quite a number of homegrown companies, particularly very strong in software and in many other areas of technology as well, in chip manufacturing. In addition to that, we have a strengthened medical devices industry in life sciences more generally: pharmaceutical, biologics. We will be very strong producers.
Well, I would like to share with you some of the photos. This is when you visited the Forbidden City yesterday. So, right, you shared on social media yesterday after this visit saying that it offers a unique window into centuries of Chinese history and culture. So, I'm really curious to know that as a history enthusiast and a former history teacher, what are some of the special details or moments that really left you the strongest impression from this experience?
