BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, currently on an official visit to China, expressed his willingness to deepen cooperation with China in economy, trade, green energy and sci-tech innovation, and to enhance coordination in multilateral affairs, during a joint interview with Chinese media in Beijing on Monday.

This visit marks the first by an Irish Taoiseach in 14 years and Martin's first since taking office. He spoke highly of the achievements in bilateral relations in recent years and emphasized the crucial role of high-level dialogue.

"I first came here 20 years ago as enterprise minister and the trading volumes between our two countries have increased exponentially. So our relationship on the trading side has grown very strongly," Martin said.

Looking ahead, Martin pointed to emerging areas such as the digital economy and the green transition. "We will be embarking on a major investment in offshore renewable energy," he said, highlighting Ireland's plan to leverage its abundant wind resources, which he said would present new opportunities for Chinese enterprises.

Martin highlighted Ireland's unique position as the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone and the European Union, which provides strong access to the vast European consumer market. He welcomed more Chinese investment in sectors like financial services, infrastructure, and biomedicine, and expressed the hope for Irish companies to further explore the Chinese market.

The Chinese market is very important to Ireland, particularly in Ireland's competitive sectors such as agri-food, dairy and life sciences, where cooperation can be strengthened, he added.

Martin also spoke of the thriving people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Irish performances like Riverdance, traditional music by bands like the Chieftains, and pop songs by Westlife, the Irish pop band, have gained great popularity in China. Growing literary connections and easier direct flights are helping bring the two peoples even closer together. In education, he mentioned that many successful partnerships have been set up between universities in both countries.

On global challenges, Martin stressed that dialogue is key to building strong political relations and properly managing differences, adding that disputes should be resolved peacefully. "Both China and Ireland are multilateralists at their core. We are strong participatory members of the United Nations (UN) and we work hard to fulfill our obligations to the international community," he said.

Regarding the multilateral trading system, Martin called for strengthening the authority of the UN and supporting its reform agenda, as well as acknowledged the role of the WTO in resolving trade disputes. "We are against tariffs. We think tariffs are ultimately damaging to the world economy," he noted.

As Ireland prepares to hold the rotating EU presidency in the second half of the year, Martin highlighted that while EU member states maintain bilateral ties with China, Ireland itself enjoys a robust economic partnership and a rich history of cultural engagements with the country. "We believe a strong bilateral relationship is entirely complementary to a strong EU-China relationship," he stated.

"I think that illustrates the potential of the future when there's mutual respect, we can share knowledge and capacities to get a better and larger outcome," Martin said, expressing confidence in the potential for future cooperation between Ireland and China. ■