BEIJING — Taoiseach Micheál Martin is set to hold in-depth talks on trade with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a five-day visit to China, pressing for progress on Irish beef exports and relief from tariffs on dairy products as EU-China trade tensions simmer.
The meeting with Li follows Martin’s summit with President Xi Jinping, where the Irish leader raised sector-specific barriers facing Irish agri-food exporters and broader questions about how Europe and China manage an increasingly fraught economic relationship.
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“I discussed obviously the situation in terms of Irish beef exports into China, the tariff situation in respect of dairy products,” Martin said after the talks with Xi, adding that the Chinese leader “undertook to engage with Chinese officials in respect of those specific issues.”
Martin said the trip carries “a significant economic dimension,” with the government seeking to deepen strategic ties with the world’s second-largest economy and protect Irish interests in sensitive sectors. “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.
Xi told Martin that China and the European Union should “bear the long-term picture in mind,” according to state news agency Xinhua, a signal Beijing wants to keep dialogue open as frictions grow over industrial policy, market access and national security concerns.
Relations between China and the EU have strained since Brussels imposed levies on Chinese electric vehicle imports in 2024, arguing that state subsidies distort competition. Beijing has since rolled out countermeasures, including tariffs on EU dairy products, escalating pressure on a sector that is central to Ireland’s export economy.
Last week, China also set import quotas and additional tariffs on beef imports from this year, a step that affects global suppliers and complicates Ireland’s efforts to expand its footprint in a high-demand market. The combined dairy and beef measures underscore how collateral damage from the EU-China industrial dispute is spilling into agriculture, raising costs and uncertainty for producers and processors.
For Dublin, the meeting with Li is an opportunity to explore pragmatic fixes even as disputes between Brussels and Beijing play out. Irish officials have long argued that predictable market access and science-based trade rules are essential for exporters navigating shifting demand patterns and post-pandemic supply chains.
Martin’s agenda emphasizes both sector-specific relief and a reset in tone at the political level. By raising beef and dairy issues directly with Xi and seeking concrete follow-up from Chinese ministries, the Taoiseach is testing whether bilateral engagement can deliver incremental gains within a contentious EU-China framework.
The Irish leader’s pitch rests on a familiar argument for small, open economies: trade stability is a shared interest. Easing frictions on food and drink, a sector where Ireland has developed a reputation for quality and traceability, could provide low-hanging fruit for confidence-building even as more strategic disputes — from clean-tech subsidies to data governance — remain unresolved.
Still, the path to resolution is narrow. Brussels has signaled it will maintain pressure on Chinese industrial overcapacity and subsidy practices, while Beijing’s retaliatory playbook has widened beyond automobiles. The dairy and beef steps, announced in quick succession, show China is willing to target politically sensitive sectors across Europe as leverage.
Against that backdrop, Martin’s outreach is both tactical and symbolic: a bid to keep the conversation grounded in concrete fixes without losing sight of the broader forces pushing the two sides apart. Whether the talks with Li yield immediate relief for Irish exporters remains uncertain, but Dublin is betting that sustained engagement — anchored in clear, sector-specific asks — offers the best chance to protect jobs at home and keep doors open in China.
Martin’s visit, which includes business-focused events and official meetings, comes as companies on both sides recalibrate. Irish firms are weighing supply-chain diversification and compliance costs, while Chinese buyers face shifting import rules and consumer demand. The Taoiseach’s message in Beijing is that a rules-based, “long-term picture” — to borrow Xi’s phrasing — remains the surest way to keep trade flowing even when politics turns rough.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
