Looking east for a new trade frontier

The visit to Ireland of China’s pro-business vice-president Xi Jinping could mark the start of a significant increase in trade between the countries, but we must be ready to grab this golden opportunity with two hands, writes Dan Buckley

When Xi Jinping was sent as a teenager to the countryside for “re-eduction as a peasant,” he showed his mettle by lugging sackfuls of wheat on his back.

At least, that’s the official version of the rise to power of China’s vice-president who is destined to replace Hu Jintao as president next year, becoming, arguably, the world’s most powerful man.