Micheál Martin says Government and private sector must be 'clear-eyed' about China's objectives

The Tánaiste will say Ireland's engagement with China will be linked to its approach to Ukraine. Picture: Jim Coughlan

The Government and private sector need to be "realistic" and "clear-eyed" about China's strategic objectives and their implications for Ireland, the Tánaiste will warn today.

Micheál Martin is expected to lay out Ireland's stance on China in a keynote address this afternoon. He will strongly advise the private sector, academics and other stakeholders to increase their awareness of their level of exposure and to "de-risk" where necessary.

It comes as staff at Government departments and agencies have been told to remove TikTok from their official devices following a detailed risk review by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

IDA Ireland has also confirmed it will be following the advice to delete the video-sharing app from devices over fears that the data contained could be sent to the Chinese government, despite the social media platform being a client company.

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The Tánaiste will say Ireland's engagement with China will be linked to its approach to Ukraine, its commitment to the multilateral system, and our strong desire to partner with them on global challenges and it will be anchored in Ireland’s enduring mission to preserve and promote human rights.

He will use his address at the Royal Irish Academy’s Annual International Affairs Conference to say this country will not be "naïve nor silent" when we see evidence of core principles of the UN Charter being undermined by China. He will acknowledge that China and Ireland’s different world views, values and interests will inevitably shape how we engage with one another.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen recently said the EU's relationship with China is not black and white but it is not in our interest to fully decouple from China. She instead suggested diplomatic and economic "de-risking".

The Tánaiste will elaborate that for Ireland, de-risking means developing our economic and systemic resilience to, in turn, protect our values and interests.

He will say the process of “de-risking” is not confined to government and the private sector, academic and other stakeholders — while building relationships with China should increase their awareness of their level of exposure and de-risk where necessary.

"This does not mean turning our backs on an economic, diplomatic and cultural relationship with China. There are many mutually beneficial ties that we can nourish and grow. We will continue to support many of our businesses in their engagement with China, and to work with the Chinese companies established in Ireland to create jobs and build prosperity," he will say.

Mr Martin will strongly reject the framing by some of a “West against the rest” scenario and tell the gathering that Ireland’s starting point for analysing China’s global ambitions and engagements is whether or not it upholds the multilateral system with the UN Charter at its heart. "This is true for our relationship with any State," Mr Martin will say.