Taoiseach gets céad míle fáilte in his native Cork's twin city — Shanghai

On the 20th anniversary of the Cork-Shanghai twinning agreement, Micheál Martin met with Shanghai's mayor, who was effusive about his city's close ties with Ireland, and, in particular, Cork

Taoiseach Micheal Martin with Chinese premier Li Qiang in Bejing. Picture: Government of Ireland/PA Wire

Shanghai is not Cork and Cork is not Shanghai.

Cork does not feature 200 skyscrapers, 25 million people, and the engine room of finance for a continent, but, by the same token, Shanghai has never won an All Ireland.

While the two cities may have their differences, they are twins. 

The Chinese city is the newest of Cork's six twinned cities, having joined the likes of Rennes and Coventry in 2005. 

On the 20th anniversary of the Cork-Shanghai twinning agreement, Taoiseach Micheál Martin met with Shanghai's mayor on the banks of my own lovely Huangpu.

Mr Martin's last day of a trip to China was largely focused around Ireland's food and tourism offerings, but began in the Grand Halls, all black marble and gold fixtures.

Shanghai mayor Gong Zhen gave a lengthy rundown of how his city had become a world powerhouse through its "five centres plan" — becoming a leader in economy, shipping, international trade, international finance, and science — and said the city valued its relationship with Ireland.

Shanghai has always attached great importance to its friendship with Ireland. For instance, Shanghai has very close ties with Cork City, which is also your home town — and in fact Cork City is the first sister city between our two countries. 

"Over the years we have carried out very expensive and practical cooperation in economy and trade, education, healthcare, and government official trainings."

Mr Martin, for his part, said he was impressed by the city's growth in the two decades since he first visited.

"I first came to Shanghai, from Ireland, over 20 years ago. I'm struck over the intervening period by the continued growth and development of what is an historic city, but a city that has always been open, and that has been fundamentally a trading city. 

"An international trading port, that has enormous impact and influence in the wider hinterland and — clearly, as you've outlined — is one of the most significant cities globally, in terms of economic metrics, in terms of research, and in terms of ideas, and many many different nationalities coming to live and to work here in Shanghai."

While the Taoiseach was dining with Mr Zeng, a panel discussion was under way on the ninth floor of the city's Peace Hotel where Chinese experts were advising travel operators how best to cater for tourists heading to Ireland. 

China has a growing middle class which has huge spending power and a desire to travel and to shop, with Kildare Village, the retail outlet, pinpointed as a particular favourite of those headed west.

Mr Martin's introduction by Tourism Ireland chief executive Alice Mansergh hit on, you guessed it, Cork and its coastlines and food and people, while Mr Martin made particular mention of Irish input into film and TV, the likes of Star Wars, Derry Girls, and Line Of Duty. 

He did not mention the Cork-set Young Offenders, despite it ranking as the 20th most highly-rated English language show on China's version of iMDB, even with the accents confusing viewers.

As guests ate their lunch afterwards, Mr Martin was introduced to tourism specialists before ascending to the 11th floor where another State agency, Bord Bia, had its own event. 

There, two tables of food influencers from China's version of Instagram — Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book — were given a crash course in Irish seafood and alcohol, before being served Irish blue lobster and cocktails made of Irish vodka and poitín. 

The Taoiseach did not partake in either, but was in demand for photos with the online personalities. 

Mr Martin did not, however, follow the local propensity to throw up the peace sign in photos, much to the disappointment of the travelling press.

That press corps would be left waiting on the hotel's roof terrace for about an hour as the Taoiseach dealt with matters domestic, one presumes finalising the Irish position in Friday's vote on the Mercosur trade deal. 

When he arrived on the rooftop, he was definitive Ireland would vote no, which makes his position of "leaving the door open" to voting yes in the same spot just 24 hours earlier all the more confusing.

A few media questions asked and answered later, and Mr Martin was off to a community event, before heading to the city's airport and back to Ireland and, more importantly, Cork.