Address by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Trade at the Enterprise Ireland Business Breakfast Hosted in honour of the Visit to Ireland by the Premier of the People's Republic of China, Premier Zhu, on Tuesday 4th September, 2001 in Dublin.

Your Excellency Premier Zhu, honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen; it is a great pleasure for me to welcome the Premier of the People's Republic of China to this morning's event.

As you may know, following the Taoiseach's visit to China in 1998, in which I also participated, the Government established the Asia Strategy Committee to map out a plan for the development of closer ties between Ireland and Asia, with special emphasis on China. Our Embassies, overseas missions, the various Government Departments, Agencies and public and private bodies have been following this strategy over the past three years and it is very gratifying to see the results of this activity in the form of closer links with Asia generally, and China in particular, at all levels of Government and the economy.

Contact and dialogue at Government level has increased dramatically. In spring of 2000, we had the honour of receiving a visit from the Vice Premier of China, Mr. Li Lan-Qing, and the Tánaiste, Mary Harney paid an official visit to China in September of the same year, leading to what was the largest-ever business delegation to Asia. Over the course of the past 12 months, three Bilateral Agreements between Ireland and China were signed on Double Taxation, Cooperation in Science and Technology and on Cooperation in Education.

This visit by Premier Zhu will provide even greater impetus to the development of our relations with China, the country which is expected to be the powerhouse of the Asian economy in the 21st century.

On the economic front, Enterprise Ireland has strengthened its presence in China and has been increasingly pro-active in bringing the business communities from both sides together. The number of Irish companies active in China has been doubling each year since 1998 and the number of Chinese companies and delegations visiting Ireland has increased enormously. In 2000, Enterprise Ireland hosted six business delegations from China and in the first seven months of this year, a total of twelve delegations (comprising 112 people) have visited Ireland. The majority of these visitors have been concerned with the two sectors which are the main focus of Enterprise Ireland's activities in China - the Information Technology sector and the Education sector.

We have with us today at this breakfast, senior management of many of the significant Irish companies that are engaged in business with China. This gathering would probably not have been possible three years ago because, at that time, very few Irish companies had taken an active interest in business in China. However, underpinned by the remarkable expansion of the Irish economy in recent years, and a growing awareness of the importance of the Chinese market, we are happy to note the ever-larger numbers of Irish companies actively pursuing business in China.

The Irish companies that have recently established offices in China and Hong Kong provide further evidence of the growing importance to us of the China market. Eight Irish technology companies are among the 15 that have established in Hong Kong in recent years. A number of these are now in the process of setting up further offices in China, primarily in Beijing. I am happy to report that two of our leading IT companies (Eurologic and Iona Technologies) have established Beijing offices this year.

Aside from direct economic activities, Enterprise Ireland has been working to raise the awareness of Ireland within China. Through TV and print media, a campaign to publicise the various strengths of the Irish economy has been implemented with some success. I understand that Ireland's image as a leader in the production of Software and Information Technology products and as a destination for overseas education, is now firmly established in China.

Two-way trade with China is growing rapidly. In 2000, China was Ireland's 20th largest trading partner and the 13th largest source of imports to Ireland. China and Hong Kong combined would constitute our 13th largest export market in 2000. And on its accession to the WTO, we expect that China's market will become more important as a destination for exports from our indigenous companies and will play an increasing role as a supplier of materials for the Irish economy.

Provisional trade figures for Ireland's exports to China in the period from January to June of this year totaled IR£92.2 million, an increase of 50% on the same period in 2000. Total exports to China in 2000 amounted to IR£131 million, a 40% increase on 1999 figures. This data does not take into account Irish goods re-exported from other Customs Territories such as Hong Kong, nor do they track the substantial exports of services to China.

Imports from China are growing at around 45% in 2001, after increasing by 37% in the year 2000. We expect that imports will also continue to grow rapidly, as China becomes an ever more important source of supply for our high-tech manufacturing sector.

The spectacular growth in our two-way trade reflects both the increasing openness of the Chinese economy and the massive investments being undertaken by the Government in the modernization of the economy. It also reflects the growing maturity of our own companies and an increasingly global approach of our indigenous International Services and Manufacturing sectors.

Your Excellency, I speak for all of us here today when I say that Ireland looks forward to developing closer relations with China and we wish you Cead Mile Failte (one hundred thousand welcomes) to Ireland.

Thank you.