Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the EU and China will need to engage to resolve trade friction that has seen both sides place tariffs on each other's products.
Mr Martin made the comments during his four-day official visit to China, where today he met the country’s Prime Minister to discuss Ireland and the EU’s trading relationship with the world’s second-largest economy.
"It's logical at some stage the EU and China will have to resolve trading issues, just like we have with the US," he said.
He added: "Issues have emerged in terms of rare-earth minerals, EVs, agricultural products - so the articulation yesterday was Europe and China should engage with a view to resolve it."
Mr Martin added that "we all have our interests, we all understand our domestic needs".
"EU member states all visit China to varying degrees and all have strong partnerships with China on a trading and economic basis.
"Ireland, likewise, it's sensible for us to maintain that engagement."
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Mr Martin held talks this morning with the head of the National People's Congress, Zhao Leji, the third-highest ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party, after the president and prime minister.
At the start of their meeting, they both referenced the strong relationship and level of co-operation between Ireland and China.
The Taoiseach also stressed that through its international relations, Ireland is looking to promote and advance the international rules-based order.
Yesterday, he had an audience with President Xi Jinping, where trade issues including recent tariffs imposed by the EU and China on some of each other’s products were discussed.
The EU placed a tariff on Chinese electric vehicles entering the single market, while last month Beijing put a fresh tariff on EU dairy products being sold in China.
"I discussed obviously the situation in terms of Irish beef exports into China, the tariff situation in respect of dairy products," Mr Martin said, adding that Mr Xi "undertook to engage with Chinese officials in respect of those specific issues."
Mr Martin has said China's educational officials are "particularly pleased that Chinese is now on the Leaving Certificate".
"We had a very important presentation from the third-level institutions between Ireland and China - and its an area that has grown really strongly over the last number of years.
"We now have 13 joint colleges and about 110 joint programmes and these involve the lecturing to students here in China by Irish colleges and it's quite beneficial both to Irish colleges and to Chinese students and the Chinese colleges as well.
"And that's apart from the normal toing-and-froing of students coming to study in Ireland and Irish students coming to study as part of their undergraduate or postgraduate programmes in China."
The Taoiseach will have met the three highest-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party during his four-day trip.
The last time a sitting Taoiseach met the Chinese president was more than 20 years ago when Bertie Ahern was in the role.
Local media in Beijing are reporting China may be placing such importance on this visit, because it sees Ireland as a potential bridge to ease growing trade tensions between China and the EU.
Ireland will hold the EU presidency later this year.
The Taoiseach described his meeting with Mr Xi yesterday as a "warm and constructive engagement", covering a range of issues including bilateral and EU-China ties.
"On a broader level, I think the President was keen that Europe and China would have a broader framework to govern trade into the future," he said.
Mr Xi had told Mr Martin during the meeting that China and the EU should "bear the long-term picture in mind", according to state news agency Xinhua.
Earlier today, the Taoiseach addressed an education event organised by Enterprise Ireland, which was attended by representatives from colleges in Ireland as well as from China.
Additional reporting: Reuters/PA
