Micheà¡l Martin pushes ‘open for trade’ message in China

This week, Tà¡naiste Micheà¡l Martin spent the bones of four days in China, on a visit with all of the usual trappings: political meetings, speeches at universities and briefings with state agencies. But his visit had something of an awkward prologue. In May, in a major speech setting out Ireland’s stance towards China, he said Ireland needed to be clear-eyed about China’s goals - that the two countries had differing worldviews, interests and values. “This reality will inevitably shape how we engage with one another,” Mr Martin said. The Tà¡naiste said Ireland and the EU needed to de-risk its relationship…