Taoiseach Micheál Martin will visit China from tomorrow, the Asian nation's foreign ministry said, the first such trip by a Taoiseach since 2012 as Beijing shores up ties with individual members of the European Union bloc.
The trip runs until Thursday. The foreign ministry said that "China is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust and expand mutually beneficial co-operation with Ireland".
During his five-day trip, Mr Martin will also meet Chinese premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the ministry said, and will visit Shanghai.
Mr Martin met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Dublin in February 2025, where they discussed EU-China relations, trade, human rights and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In December, China imposed up to 42.7% of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the EU.
China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as countermeasures for the EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
The Taoiseach's visit comes at a time of rising Sino-Japan tension.
Beginning tomorrow, China will separately be hosting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for four days who will also meet President Xi.
In November Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said that her country's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its sovereign territory.
Last week, China conducted large-scale military drills around the island for two days to warn against what it called separatist and "external interference" forces.
Ahead of his trip, Mr Lee said that South Korea consistently respects the One China policy when it comes to Taiwan during an interview with China's state broadcaster CCTV.
