Chinese see Ireland in global terms

In the midst of all our economic problems, the three-day visit of Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping to this country is much more than a welcome diversion.

It is further evidence that, as a nation, we punch well above our weight diplomatically.

The Mr Xi has decided to visit this country and the US, while bypassing the Britain and the other countries of the EU.

Our visitor is not a regular run of the mill vice-president.

He has formerly served as both as vice-chairman and chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls China’s armed forces. In the autumn, he is due to become chairman of the Communist Party and is expected to replace President Hu Jintao in March of next year, when the latter’s term of office ends. That means that Xi Jinping is shortly due to become one of the most powerful leaders on the planet.

Amnesty International is seeking to highlight the human rights cases of Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo and the human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who are both imprisoned in China. It is important that such cases such be highlighted, but welcoming the Chinese Vice President does not mean we endorse all aspects of his country’s human rights record, any more than welcoming President Barack Obama last year meant that we endorse his government’s conduct in holding prisoners at Guantanamo.

The economic advances made by China within the past half-century have been phenomenal. It is undoubtedly emerging as potentially the biggest global power.

Despite this, however, one fifth of the whole world’s unemployed are Chinese.

We are only a tiny country with about 4m people, but the very fact that Xi Jinping is even aware of our existence and is actually visiting this country emphasises again the importance of diplomacy, especially at this time when our Government appears ready to discard some of our diplomatic ties on spurious financial grounds.

“We in China do not look on Ireland as a small country,” explained Frank Bai, the managing director of the Irish branch of the international communications company Huawei.

“We tend to see it in global terms and, even though the population here is small, the Irish have exerted huge influence in practically every corner of the world.”

Chinese industrialists see Ireland as a bridge between Europe and America, and we should take advantage of that, according to Mr Bai, who contends that there is huge room for expansion. It should be noted that this country’s trade with China was worth €8bn in 2010.

In the past half-century since President John F Kennedy’s famous visit to Ireland in 1963, much has been made of our trade links with the US.

Mr Xi’s visit, beginning today, offers the potential to expand on our trade with China and develop this country’s potential as a bridge for Chinese trade between Europe and America.