Ireland’s Micheál Martin will visit China in the first trip by an Irish leader in 14 years

Micheal Martin, Tanaiste of Ireland and leader of Fianna Fail speaks to the media during a visit to St Seton's Secondary School in Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

BEIJING — Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin will visit China from Sunday and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the first visit by an Irish leader in 14 years, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Saturday.

Beijing has been strengthening ties with individual members of the European Union despite tensions with the EU bloc over tariffs and human rights issues. In late 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish King Felipe VI met with Xi in separate trips to China.

During his five-day trip, Martin will also meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who had invited him, and Zhao Leji, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the ministry said in a statement. Besides Beijing, he will travel to Shanghai, it added.

Through the visit, the ministry said, China is ready to work with Ireland to expand cooperation and foster China-EU relations.

In December, China imposed up to 42.7 per cent of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the EU. China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as countermeasures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Beginning Sunday, China will separately host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for four days. During his stay, he will meet with Xi, their second meeting in just two months.

Lee’s trip came at a time of rising Sino-Japan tensions, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November said that her country’s military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its sovereign territory.

Last week, China conducted large-scale military drills around the island for two days to warn against what it called separatist and “external interference” forces.

Ahead of his trip, Lee said that South Korea consistently respects the “One China” policy when it comes to Taiwan during an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV.