Ireland’s Taoiseach to Visit Beijing and Shanghai in Five-Day China Trip

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will travel to Beijing and Shanghai for a five-day state visit beginning Sunday, Jan. 4, marking the first trip by an Irish prime minister to China since 2012. The itinerary, confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry and Irish authorities, runs through Thursday, Jan. 8, and includes scheduled meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Chinese officials said the visit was made at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang. In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry described the trip as an opportunity to “enhance political mutual trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with Ireland” and said it hopes the visit will promote the “sound and steady advancement of China‑EU relations.”

Martin will visit Beijing for high-level discussions before traveling to Shanghai, China’s commercial hub, where economic and business-oriented talks are expected. The trip follows a meeting in Dublin in February 2025 between Martin and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which Irish and Chinese officials discussed EU-China relations, trade, human rights and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The visit arrives against a backdrop of rising friction between China and the European Union over trade measures. In December 2025, Chinese authorities imposed provisional tariffs of up to 42.7 percent on certain EU dairy products, including milk and cheese, and launched probes into European brandy and pork imports. Those actions were widely reported as linked to EU duties on Chinese electric vehicles, creating bilateral strains that have significant implications for Irish exporters in dairy and meat sectors.

For Ireland, whose agri-food sector is a significant employer and export earner, the trip is both symbolic and pragmatic. Shanghai’s status as a trade and finance center makes it a likely focus for discussions on market access and investment, while Beijing meetings present an opportunity to press for resolutions to tariff measures affecting Irish producers. Irish officials are expected to press for clarity on the provisional tariffs and probes and to seek assurances on long-term access for dairy and meat products.

The visit also fits into a broader pattern of renewed Chinese engagement with individual European capitals even as EU-level disputes persist. High-level visits to Beijing by other European leaders in recent months have underscored Beijing’s push to cultivate bilateral ties alongside its fraught relationship with the EU as a bloc. Martin’s trip will overlap with a state visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is also scheduled to meet President Xi beginning Jan. 4.

Markets and policymakers will watch closely for any concrete commitments on trade or investment that emerge from Martin’s discussions. While Dublin must navigate its obligations within the EU’s common commercial policy, the Irish government will be seeking to protect sectoral exporters at risk from Chinese trade measures while exploring areas for cooperation, including technology, education and green investment. The coming week in Beijing and Shanghai will test how far bilateral diplomacy can insulate national economic interests from broader geopolitical tensions.