Successful China important opportunity for Ireland: Chinese ambassador

DUBLIN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- A successful China is an important opportunity for Ireland and China welcomes Ireland to engage in China's development and benefit from some of the great opportunities it offers, said Chinese Ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong in an article published Thursday on The Irish Times, a major English daily newspaper in Ireland.

Thursday marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

In the article titled "China's Development and Its Implication for Ireland," He said under the leadership of the CPC, China has now become the world's second largest economy and "China's development has never been at the expense of other countries' interests."

In 2020, the total goods traded between China and Ireland were valued at 18.04 billion U.S. dollars, making China the fourth largest trade partner of Ireland, said the article.

China is also the largest export market for Irish pork and the fifth largest market for Irish food and drinks, it said.

In the first five months of this year, the goods traded between the two countries were valued at 8.48 billion U.S. dollars, of which Irish exports to China accounted for 6.82 billion U.S. dollars, up 24.9 percent year on year, according to the article.

"The Chinese and Irish economies are highly complementary, and there is great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation," said He.

"China welcomes Ireland to engage in China's development and benefit from some of the great opportunities China offers," the Chinese ambassador said, adding that China is ready to work with Ireland to deepen effective exchanges and cooperation in various fields.