An Irish woman is seen during an event of "Chinese Culture in a Van" in Dublin, Ireland, July 23, 2023. The annual event designed to promote the Chinese culture in Ireland was held in Dublin on Sunday, drawing hundreds of local residents. (Photo by Zhao Tianyu/Xinhua)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Ireland is seen as a very positive start for economic and trade relations between China and Ireland in 2024, and it is expected to promote economic and trade cooperation, Zhang Zhewei, director for China at the Investment and Development Agency of Ireland, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

Zhang said that bilateral investment and trade have shown steadily rising trends, and Ireland hopes to become a gateway for Chinese companies to enter the EU market.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of China-Ireland diplomatic relations. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said earlier that the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has grown steadily, with frequent interactions at various levels and deepening cooperation in trade and investment, green development, culture, education and other fields. 

China looks forward to working with Ireland for greater progress in China-Ireland relations and new contributions to the sound and steady growth of China-Europe relations.

In Zhang's observation, despite the global economic slowdown, Chinese companies' pace of overseas development has not slowed down, and the quality of overseas investments has significantly improved. 

"Ireland has seen various types of Chinese investment, which has expanded from financial services to high-tech industries and life sciences. China's economic recovery and expanded opening-up measures have brought many opportunities for Irish companies," Zhang said.

Recent years have witnessed a good momentum in China-Ireland trade relations. 

According to the Chinese Embassy in Ireland, China is Ireland's fourth-largest trade partner, fifth-largest goods export market, seventh-largest services export destination, largest trading partner in Asia Pacific, fastest-growing major market and largest overseas market for Irish pork and baby formula.
  
In 2022, bilateral trade reached $26.6 billion, up 23.6 percent year-on-year. China's exports to Ireland amounted to $12.9 billion, up 55.3 percent, while imports from Ireland rose 3.7 percent to $13.7 billion.
 
China-Ireland two-way investment is growing rapidly. More than 40 Chinese companies have established a presence in Ireland. In 2021, direct investment from the Chinese mainland into Ireland reached 9.2 billion euros ($10 billion), creating over 5,000 jobs.

The clean energy and emissions reduction sectors also hold tremendous potential in achieving both countries' carbon reduction goals.

"There is significant potential for cooperation between China and Ireland in areas such as offshore wind energy, energy storage and hydrogen production," Zhang said.

Moreover, Zhang said that Ireland can be a gateway for Chinese companies to enter the EU market.

Although the EU is an integrated market, regulatory agencies of different members within the EU have varying understandings of regulations. Ireland has an advantage in this regard as it is a country that is very conducive to business and is dedicated to creating a very favorable and stable business environment, Zhang said.

"Ireland aims to act as a facilitator, helping Chinese companies enter the European market more effectively and provide better products and services to European consumers," Zhang said.