Tánaiste Simon Harris has pushed for the resumption of Irish beef access to China.

The Tánaiste hosted a visit from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday morning in Dublin.

Irish beef is effectively locked out of the Chinese market since the discovery of atypical BSE in a bovine animal last October.

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This is the third time in four years that Ireland's access to the Chinese beef market has been affected due to BSE.

The ministers held discussions on Monday covering a range of topics including bilateral relations, EU-China relations, multilateral engagement and regional and international issues.

Economic relationship

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the relationship with China is one that is valued.

"Both Ireland, and the EU more broadly, have a comprehensive economic relationship with China. I stressed our interest in maintaining and strengthening that relationship, on the basis of the global multilateral trading system, with transparent, equitable and mutually agreed parameters and a level playing field.

"I also took the opportunity to raise a number of trade issues of importance to Ireland and requested that the Chinese authorities allow the resumption of access for Irish beef to China. We also discussed issues on higher education links between our two countries," he said.

China is Ireland’s largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Total bilateral trade in 2023 amounted to €36bn.

Trade in goods with China reached almost €9bn in exports and €10.8bn in imports in 2023.

Exports to China are driven by medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and computer services as well as agri-food and increasingly, financial services.