LAST UPDATE | 17 Feb

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN and Tánaiste Simon Harris met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this morning in Dublin. with trade, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the China’s human rights record up for the discussion.

Government Information Services said that the Tánaiste the the Chinese minister discussed a range of topics including bilateral relations, EU-China relations, multilateral engagement and regional and international issues.

In a statement, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the two had “detailed and constructive exchanges on a wide range of issues”.

“In my conversation with the Foreign Minister, I underlined the centrality of the UN Charter – and the institutions and bodies of the UN – to Ireland’s foreign policy,” Harris said.

“I set out Ireland’s long held concerns around the human rights situation in China, particularly around the National Security Law in Hong Kong, and the treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and elsewhere.

I emphasised Ireland’s long held view that all human rights issues of concern should be comprehensively discussed and examined within the UN human rights architecture.

Harris said their discussion “also focused on the situation in Ukraine and in the Middle East”.

“I asked that China use its influence on Russia to end their illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Harris said.

“Any peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine must be based on the UN Charter and must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. There can be no discussion about the future of Ukraine, without Ukraine.

“We also discussed the crisis in Israel and Palestine, including in the context of China’s role as President of the United Nations Security Council this month.

We agreed that the ceasefire and hostage release deal must be implemented and that all involved must meet their commitments, including further releases of hostages and ensuring continuing humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“Economic relationship”

Harris also stressed the economic Ireland and the rest of the EU shares with China, and his desire to strengthen that relationship.

“I also took the opportunity to raise a number of trade issues of importance to Ireland and requested that the Chinese authorities allow the resumption of access for Irish beef to China. We also discussed issues on higher education links between our two countries,” Harris said. 

Ireland exported over 3,200 tonnes of beef worth €19.7 million to China in 2023. Trade in beef was suspended by China for ten weeks at the end of 2023 due to the discovery of a case of atypical BSE. It resumed in January last year. However, trade again halted in October last year die to another case being discovered, and has yet to resume.

Harris noted that this year marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between the EU and China.

“We hope that further progress can be made on issues such as digital, trade, the environment, human rights and other topics, as building blocks towards a substantial EU-China Summit this year,” he said,

“Our meeting today underlined again the essential role and value of diplomacy in discussing both areas of cooperation, and issues on which we disagree,” said Harris, closing his statement.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin also met the Yi this morning.

Diplomatic tensions

Yi’s visit comes at a time when China is dealing with hostile trade and security policies coming from Western states and their allies. Yi attended the Munich Security Conference alongside world leaders last week. 

This morning, a Canadian warship passed through the Taiwan Strait just days after US warships did the same, actions China said “deliberately stir up trouble and undermine peace and stability”.

Also today, South Korea blocked access to DeepSeek, a new Chinese-made AI product whose appearance on the market sent US tech stocks tumbling earlier this year because it cost a fraction of what US competitors spent to produce similar results.

“We hope relevant countries will avoid taking measures that overstretch the concept of security or politicise trade and technology issues,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

China has been subjected to tariffs from the United States since Donald Trump became president this year, while the EU imposed tariffs on the importation of cheaper Chinese electric vehicles last year. 

China has promised to retaliate against the blanket 10% US tariffs and challenge them at the World Trade Organisation. 

China has also played an increasingly significant role in the diplomatic arena in recent years, including mediating a détente between Middle Eastern rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023.

As well as this, the country has sought to play a role in a potential resolution to the war in Ukraine, while offering Russia an economic lifeline amid Western sanctions. 

It has also been widely condemned for its human rights abuses, especially of its Muslim Uyghur population. China has incarcerated an estimated one million Uyghurs in “re-education camps” in the Xinjiang province in the northwest of the country since 2017. 

With reporting from AFP