BEIJING, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin will visit China from Sunday, the Asian nation’s foreign ministry said, the first such trip by an Irish Taoiseach since 2012 as Beijing shores up ties with individual members of the European Union bloc.
On his trip that runs until Thursday, Martin will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing among senior officials before heading to the commercial hub of Shanghai, the ministry said in a statement.
“China is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with Ireland,” it added in Saturday’s statement.
The visit overlaps with one by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is expected to discuss cooperation in artificial intelligence and cutting-edge tech with Xi.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Sam Li; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
