BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin will pay an official visit to China from Jan. 4 to 8, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Saturday.
The spokesperson said the upcoming visit by Taoiseach Micheal Martin is another visit by a Taoiseach of Ireland to China in 14 years. During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with him, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively to have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.
In addition to Beijing, Martin will visit Shanghai, according to the spokesperson.
In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development, said the spokesperson.
"Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. Through open cooperation, we've achieved mutual complementarity and common development, and benefited our two peoples," said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and provide new impetus for the two sides to pursue high-quality development and sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations in the new era. ■
