Irish tech prowess to be key for trade with China

Ireland’s reputation as a technology hub is a big draw for China, the Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping said at the end of a three- day visit, his only EU stop on a world tour.

He said IT and biotech would be trade priorities.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, meanwhile, came under fire for comparing the plight of human rights abuse victims in China with potential business deals. Defending his failure to raise individual cases with the Chinese vice president, he said: “No, we didn’t raise specific cases anymore than we raised specific trade investments.”