Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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785. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his meeting with the Premier of China, Mr Li Keqiang, and other Chinese officials on 17 May 2015. [20482/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Chinese Premier, Mr Li Keqiang paid a brief visit to Ireland on 17-18 May. Premier Li is the second most senior figure in China’s political hierarchy. This was the first visit to Ireland by Premier Li. He was accompanied by his wife, Professor Cheng Hong, as well as a 119-strong delegation, which included Mr Wang Yi, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Other senior Chinese Ministers also attended includingMr Xu Shaoshi, Chairman (Minister) of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr Gao Hucheng, Minister for Commerce and Mr Han Changfu, Minister for Agriculture, among others.

During the visit Premier Li visited a working family farm where the delegation had the opportunity to see Ireland’s sustainable, high quality food in production. The farm visit also included traditional Irish music and dance, reflecting the strong interest in Irish culture in China.

Premier Li’s short visit was a further sign of the increasingly warm and friendly relations between Ireland and China. The Chinese delegation stopped off in Ireland en route from China to South America for a visit there to a number of countries, commencing in Brazil.

Following the visit to the farm, the Taoiseach and a delegation of Ireland’s Government Ministers including myself had a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Ministerial delegation at Ashford Castle.

Among the topics discussed were developments in the Irish economy/eurozone and in the Chinese economy and scope for increasing trade links. In addition we also discussed global issues includingEU-China relations, the post-2015 development agenda (and the role that Ireland is playing in this context), UN issues, human rights and climate change.

Prospects for advancing Chinese investment in Ireland were discussed – a major “Invest in Ireland” conference is planned in Beijing later this year. We also agreed to see how connectivity between Ireland and China can be improved and to further strengthen people-to-people links, including educational exchanges.

As well as these talks, I had bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. These were very useful and we discussed a range of global issues as well as political and economic developments in the Asian region and in the EU.