On the morning of January 17 local time, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Irish President Michael D. Higgins at the Presidential Residence in Dublin.

On the morning of January 17 local time, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Irish President Michael D. Higgins at the Presidential Residence in Dublin. Xinhua News Agency reporter Rao Aimin photographed.

Li Qiang said that although China and Ireland are far apart and have different national conditions, the friendship between the two countries has stood the test of time and their development philosophies are highly aligned. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and the President, China-Ireland relations have developed steadily and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results. China is willing to work with Ireland to uphold mutual respect and treat each other as equals, take the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ireland this year as an opportunity to further implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, continuously enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two countries, fully accommodate each other's major interests and core concerns, and constantly raise the level and effectiveness of cooperation in various fields, so as to promote greater development of the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Li Qiang pointed out that China-Ireland mutually beneficial cooperation has great potential. China is willing to deepen cooperation with Ireland in such areas as economy, trade and investment, green development, and scientific and technological innovation, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges in education, culture and other fields, and further facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries. The two sides should jointly safeguard the free and open international trading system, maintain the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains, practice true multilateralism, bridge differences through dialogue, resolve disputes through cooperation, and promote the improvement of global governance, so as to better promote common development and inject more stability and positive energy into a world intertwined with changes and turbulence.

Higgins said that Ireland-China relations have maintained a sound momentum of development, and both sides have always upheld mutual understanding and mutual respect. Ireland is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges with China, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly address global challenges such as climate change, food security and sustainable development, deepen the friendship between the two peoples, and promote the continuous and in-depth development of Ireland-China relations.