The Irish Times view on Ireland and China: striking the right balance

The months since China abandoned its zero-Covid policy have seen a succession of European leaders visiting Beijing while senior Chinese diplomats have toured Europe. Europe's business leaders have returned to China too, in search of fresh contracts after three years of isolation and intermittent lockdown. As Europe re-engages with China, its leaders are trying to formulate a new strategy for relations with Beijing which have been shaken by a series of bilateral disputes and by sharply different approaches to the war in Ukraine. As tensions between China and the United States intensify, the European Union is considering how it can…