Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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301. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on his meeting with the Premier of China, Mr Li Keqiang, and other Chinese officials, on 17 May 2015. [20481/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Chinese Premier, Mr Li Keqiang paid a visit to Ireland on 17-18 May last. This was his first visit to Ireland. Premier Li was accompanied by his wife, Professor Cheng Hong, as well as a 119-strong delegation.

A delegation of Irish Government Ministers had a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Ministerial delegation at Ashford Castle.

The Irish delegation was led by the Taoiseach and, in addition to myself, included the following Ministers:

- Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Charlie Flanagan TD

- Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton TD

- Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine, Mr Simon Coveney TD

- Minister for Education and Skills, Ms Jan O'Sullivan TD

- Ministers of State Mr Dara Murphy TD and Mr Tom Hayes TD

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 including EU-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.