Patrick McCarthy, Chairman of the Ireland Sino Institute discusses the importance of Wang Yi's visit to Ireland, particularly in the context of the current uncertain global trade environment.
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00:00Patrick McCarthy is chair of the Ireland Sino Institute.
00:05So this is a chance for Ireland and China to renew and strengthen Ireland-China relations.
00:14And it's also Wang Yi's first visit to Ireland, especially now in the Trumpian era of uncertainty and tariffs.
00:20It's a great opportunity for them to strengthen ties, especially in trade and investment, FDI and so on.
00:26Premier Lee Chang came last year. They took a lot of value to Ireland and Premier Lee Chang visited last year.
00:33And Ireland was the only EU country visited. So it's a very important country for China.
00:39Absolutely. And given Ireland's trade surplus with China, should there be more efforts to address that and open up trade imports?
00:47I think, you know, very few have mentioned that, and I'm glad that we can mention it on this show,
00:53that Ireland has had a 14-year trade surplus with China.
00:58In 2023, they exported twice as much to China as they imported from China.
01:06So and the level of FDI is much lower as well compared to what America invests in Ireland.
01:13So yes, and especially as you mentioned, should we pivot? It makes common sense,
01:19because especially, I mean, in the Trumpian era, one day you've got tariffs and the next day you don't,
01:25as you see with Canada and Mexico, and you could be targeting Europe soon.
01:29China represents a stable and reliable partner, you know, so especially in this kind of era of economic uncertainty.
01:39And yes, I believe that Ireland should open up more and encourage more investment from China and more trade
01:46to address the imbalance, you know, the trade imbalance.
01:50And also with Chinese companies operating here in Europe, many actually in Dublin, along with many American companies,
01:57how important is Ireland for China as a hub for Chinese investment?
02:01And do you see that presence in Dublin growing now?
02:05In Dublin, you know, it's often called the Silicon Valley of Europe. I don't know if you've heard that one.
02:11There's 40 Chinese companies in Ireland, and a lot of them are in Dublin.
02:16IT, high tech companies like TikTok, Shein, Huawei, and these are all headquarters.
02:23And this benefits Ireland, because in terms of knowledge spillovers, technology transfer,
02:29and just learning about high tech development, and obviously it brings jobs, it adds to the public funds,
02:37and it's great for the people on the ground, the disadvantaged.
02:41You know, the one million is suffering from a housing crisis in Ireland, a cost of living crisis.
02:45So you've got to think about people on the ground.
02:47So China is a country which helps its people and the people of other nations.
02:53I think Ireland should open up more and attract more investment, more trade, to equalize the relationship.
03:00But Ireland also serves as a very important partner, as a balancing partner.
03:04You know, it's able to maintain relations with many countries without bias.
03:08It's a neutral country. It's not part of NATO.
03:10So it's a trustworthy partner from China's perspective.
03:14And China, what's in it for, why is Wang Yi going to, going back to that question,
03:20why is he going to Ireland? Because he hopes that Ireland will advocate for China's cause in Europe, you know.