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INDUSTRY LINKS
The general consensus about tradingwith China is that part-
nerships and trust are extremely important and patience is of the essence as it takes time to build up relationships. The visits sent out the signal that both markets are willing to forge links and build mutually beneficial relationships fromthe top down. The coverage they got in the Chinese media increased the
knowledge of Ireland among the general public,which has been priceless, according to Eileen Sharpe, head of China strategy at IDA Ireland. “We are using this as a platform to get access to individuals who are very difficult to access under normal circumstances,” she says. During his trip to Ireland, vice-
president Xi specifically focused on the potential growth of Chinese investment into Ireland. This was clearly picked up on by theTaoiseach and is likely to be the best return on his trade mission, according to chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) JohnWhelan. “If we can expand Chinese invest-
ment into Ireland, we have the op- portunity to emulate US corporations’ use of Ireland as an export base forChinese corporations that wish to expand across the EU,” he says. Indeed, this is the very thinking
adopted by IDAIreland. Sharpe says its key selling point is “Ireland as a bridge to the world and particularly to Europe, for Chinese companies”. “China is a slowburner for the IDA
but we need to take a targeted approach.We have to box clever,” she says. “It is very different to the US and Europe in terms of attracting direct investment due in part to the close links between businesses and the Government.” In practice, this means doing busi-
ness is a formal process, often involving memoranda of under- standing (MOU) and co-operation agreements. A number of MOUs were signed during the Irish trade missions to China led by An Taoiseach and Minister Richard Bruton TD, covering the areas of international education, international and financial services. In addition, Enterprise Ireland signed an MOU with its Chi-
nese counterpart, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, focusing on enhanced co-operation in sec-
64 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW Issue 4 Spring/Summer 2012
tors ofmutual interest such as traded services, engineering, con- struction services in the agri-tech area and medical devices. “We need a cohesive effort with lots of emphasis on the development of formal relationships,” says Sharpe.
‘As our export trade in computer equipment
is scheduled to fall over the next fewyears, the challengewill be to ensure alternative export activity to
China is advanced and expanded’
China’s vice-president Xi Jinping
THE TRADE FIGURES As for foreign investment figures, outward investment fromIre- land to China grew by 64.4pc in 2010,with 220 Irish investment proj- ects in China valued at US$1.04bn, according to the IEA. “TheChinese accumulated invest-
ment to Ireland is a much smaller figure reaching US$130m by the end of 2010, and represents a very small portion of the Chinese foreign investments on global markets,” saysWhelan. Some Chinese companies have
started investing in Ireland. For example, ICBD Financial Leasing already has an operation here and signed an agreement during An Taoiseach’s visit to help other com- panies planning to invest here. Other Chinese companies in Ire-
land include Huawai, a network equipment company based in Dublin; Satir, which makes thermal imaging cameras; and CIRS (the Chemical Inspection Regulation Service), both based in Dundalk, Co Louth. Focusing on trade, Whelan says
China is a very importantmarket for Irish businesses. Bilateral trade in goods reached €5.2bn and in serv- ices €1.7bn in 2011, ranking China as Ireland’s largest Asian partner for the sixth year in a row and its sev- enth largest trading partner overall. Irish exports of goods toChina fell
by 2pc to €2.7bn in 2011 while serv- ices exports are estimated to have stagnated at €1.6bn last year. Just over half (55pc) of goods exports to China in 2011 were of computer equipment, followed by pharmaceu- tical products (17pc), baby foods (7pc), medical devices (5pc) and dairy products (4pc) in 2011.
“As our export trade in computer equipment is scheduled to
fall over the next few years, the challenge will be to ensure al- ternative export activity to China is advanced and expanded,” saysWhelan. He expects the trade missions to boost Irish exports to China
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