In his meeting with Micheal Martin, Taoiseach of Ireland, on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Ireland, deepen political mutual trust and expand pragmatic cooperation to benefit the peoples of both countries and add momentum to China-EU relations.

It has been 14 years since a Taoiseach of Ireland last visited China. Given that there are differences within the European Union on relations with China, and some countries in the EU have been vacillating between seeking economic cooperation with China or "de-risking", Martin's visit to China is of particular importance not only for the development of relations between China and Ireland but also for relations between China and the EU.

Late last year Martin made remarks in an interview to the effect that Europeans should do more to understand the Chinese psyche and approach, as well as its longer term perspective and strategic thinking. That shows his pragmatism in approaching China-related issues, which is also reflected in his visit to China.

In his meeting with Xi, Martin said that Ireland adheres to the one-China policy, and is committed to strengthening and developing the mutually beneficial strategic partnership it has forged with China. He also noted that Ireland is willing to deepen cooperation with China in some important sectors such as trade, investment, science and technology, biomedicine, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, education and other fields.

Xi's words were relevant for all the EU members as he said that all countries should respect the development paths chosen by the peoples of other nations, and abide by international law as well as the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

This is pertinent for some EU countries which need to understand China better and view its development objectively. China has never initiated a war in modern times and has never interfered in the internal affairs of any country. Respect for different development paths and never politicizing trade and economic issues constitute the foundation of China's approach to developing healthy and stable relations with other countries and economies.

Both China and Ireland support multilateralism and advocate international fairness and justice, Xi said, while urging the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs, and jointly maintain the authority of the United Nations and make the global governance system more just and equitable.

Trade between China and Ireland reached $23.42 billion in 2024, with China becoming the fourth-largest trading partner of Ireland.

Martin's visit to China is conducive to promoting political trust between the two countries, and further expanding the space for cooperation in a wide range of areas, injecting more certainty into bilateral ties.

Looking to the future of ties, Xi said that China and Ireland should enhance cooperation in education, culture and tourism to foster greater people-to-people affinity, and China welcomes more Irish youth to come to China for study and exchanges.

The smooth development of economic cooperation and trade ties between China and Ireland and their relations are of reference value to some EU countries, which should heed how Ireland gets along with China despite their differences.

As Xi said, China and the EU should bear the long-term picture in mind, uphold the positioning of the partnership, and view and handle differences objectively and rationally to work for win-win cooperation.

Ireland will hold the rotating EU presidency in the second half of this year, and Xi told Martin that China hopes Ireland will play a constructive role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

Indeed, there is no reason for the EU and China not to develop healthy bilateral relations on the basis of economic and trade cooperation as both economies are complementary to each other. The EU should develop an objective view of China, respect the country's core interests and strengthen the foundation of mutual trust to contribute to the steady development of China-EU relations.