User:Maw39/China–Ireland relations

Ireland and China first established their bilateral foreign relations after they signed the Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations on 22 June 1979. This milestone opened the gate for trades, businesses, politics, education, and tourism between the two countries; both nations have gained enormous growth of economic values. The first historical meeting for the two headers of China and Ireland governments took place in November 1996 when Premier Li Peng met with Taoiseach John Bruton at the World Food Summit (Rome, 1996). Began in 2010, China dominates the main trading portion in Ireland's foreign business. By 2019, this bilateral relationship has boomed to a high point, and a ceremony of their 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations was held in Dublin, Ireland in June 2019.

Trading
The trading volumes in China and Ireland have substantially improved after the establishment of diplomatic relations. At the very first, the trade volume was only US$6.90 million. By 2000, Ireland had invested 34 projects in China and offered pledged investment of US$89.30 million with real input of US$19.28 million". According to the data on 2018, Ireland exported 10.8 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods, up 33.51 percent year on year.

Now, Ireland becomes the first EU beef exporter to the Chinese market in a hope of Irish people to open a new farm market. Irish mainly exports food and diary to China — trade has almost doubled to 8 billion euros ($9 billion) during Enda Kenny's tenure, who was the prime minister of Ireland during 2014–2017. Looking on the other side, China also exports "parts of household appliances and radio communication equipment, clothes, medicine, ships, etc." By 2018, the bilateral trade between these two countries boomed to a high point and hit €17 billion in goods and services.

However, worth of notice is that the US-China trade war in 2019 affected Ireland's export goods to China negatively. Ireland is known for exporting high-end chips that mainly export to China to make final products which are frequently shipped on to the US. The trade war impacts both Chinese and Ireland's economic growth,.

Education
The booming relationships between the two nations affect the educational aspect of both countries as well. China and Ireland signed the Agreement on Education Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Ireland in October 2000. Since then, the number of Chinese students studying in Ireland increased. By June 2000, the number of Chinese students in Ireland has reached 2,500. By 2019, there are about 3,500 Chinese students enrolled in higher education schools in Ireland and 1500 enrolled in English-language courses. In 2019, the Institution of Chinese Language and Culture located in Ireland has begun to offer beginning adult Chinese classes, business Chinese for companies and professionals, and Chinese extracurricular courses for children. Most of the teachers who teach Chinese are native speakers from China, and the majority of them work with Dublin institutions. Irish and Chinese colleges have started cooperative university programs recently.

Business
In April 2000, Ireland and China initiated an “Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation "; they also signed "Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation" in the following September. These documents helped the two nations developing their foreign relations and economic growth by increasing job opportunities and wages. By 2019, there are about 37 Chinese companies in Ireland that have 3,200 employees in total. "The mobile company Three Ireland, owned by CK Hutchison from Hong Kong, is the largest Chinese employer in Ireland, with about 1,400 employees." Another well-known Chinese company that has established offices in Ireland is Huawei, the most-used cellphone brand by Chinese people. Huawei has 200 people working in Dublin, Cork and Athlone's offices. This company strategy becomes a key step for Huawei setting its international orientation and provides job opportunities for Irish people that responding to the call from the Chinese government of building friendly relations with Ireland.

On the other side, some Irish companies also their market By 2019, there are more than 400 Irish companies who have successfully entered into the Chinese market.

Tourism
The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Ireland promote cultural exchange and traveling over the years. In Ireland, beginning in 2012, more than 93 percent of immigrants are from China. In China, there are about 9,000 Irish citizens currently living within the country. In recent years, Ireland becomes one of the hottest recommended countries to travel to. By 2019, there are almost 40,000 Chinese travelers visit Ireland a year according to the official data.

Moreover, Irish tourism authorities want to increase the number of visitors from China to 50,000 a year. Furthermore, Hainan Airline from China opens direct flights between Dublin and three Chinese cities- Beijing, Shenzhen, and HongKong.

On the ceremony of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations held in June 2019 in Dublin, Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan announced that the Irish government welcomes Chinese visitors and would issue a five-year multi-entry visa option for Chinese people, which started in July 2019.