Remarks by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese at an Enterprise Ireland Business Breakfast
Remarks by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese at an Enterprise Ireland Business Breakfast Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel
Dajio hao. Hello everyone.
Good Morning. It is a great pleasure for me to be here today, on my first official visit to the People's Republic of China. I have been looking forward with particular interest to visiting Shanghai and to see at first hand the dynamic transformations that are a topic of fascination and admiration worldwide. What Ihave seen has exceeded all expectations. The scale of what has been achieved in the Bund and Pudong areas, redeveloped from farmland in less than twelve years, are dramatic testimony to a vibrant economy and a nation that is committed to the achievement of unprecedented levels of economic development. Shanghai is truly the commercial future of Asia.
It is good to have this opportunity to say a few words to an audience made up of Irish companies who are successfully doing business in China together with some of their valued Chinese customers and partners and representatives of the media. Ireland, and Irish companies are very excited at the prospect of making a contribution to China’s continuing surge in economic growth. As part of my visit to China, I am leading what is by far the largest trade mission to your country – and one of the largest groups of Irish companies ever to visit an international market. It underlines the reality that China is now one of the most sought after trading partners in the world and that we in Ireland are very keen to build on and expand the pattern of growth in two-way trade between our two countries. We are proud of the fact that a comparatively small country like Ireland has the capability to offer world-class products and services to the world’s largest marketplace.
In the past four years, there has been a significant growth in the number of Irish companies that are visiting, conducting business and have representation in China. The opportunities for Irish companies are multi-sectoral and include software, telecommunications, aviation services, process control and instrumentation, electronics and engineering, food and food ingredients, as well as international consultancy and services in areas ranging from education and training to international finance.
There are, candidly, both opportunities and challenges for Ireland in developing business with China. On the one hand, there has been very significant recent progress in terms of our actively seeking out new business. But, on the other hand, there is major task in creating awareness in China of Ireland, of who we are, which is a vital precondition to building strong trade and business links.
In large part, this reflects the fact that we are a small European country without a colonial past or a centuries-long tradition of trading, and as a result Ireland has had limited contact with China through social, political or trading contacts – until recently. And unlike our relationships with, for example, Continental Europe and North America, we don’t have in China, or in the Asian region as a whole, many members of our global Irish family who would over the years, have brought about knowledge of Ireland and a tradition of social, cultural andbusiness interaction. So we have the challenge of telling our story to China.
Visits by Irish Government Ministers to China now occur on a regular basis, and are reciprocated by visits to Ireland by high-level Asian counterparts. There is an ongoing programme of Irish trade and business missions and, again, reciprocal visits to Ireland by Chinese business delegations. We have initiated a programme of sponsoring key journalists and other opinion leaders to visit and learn about Ireland. There have been several high profile initiatives to increase awareness of Ireland. Each of these represents a crucial element in building interaction and exchanges between us.
We have substantially stepped up Ireland’s presence in China. Ireland has established new diplomatic and trade promotion facilities in Beijing and a new consulate here in Shanghai. Enterprise Ireland has opened new incubator centres for Irish companies in Beijing and Shanghai. Although these are comparatively small in relation to the size of your country, they are making a very active contribution.
We understand in Ireland that if we wish to participate in this huge and growing country, we have to start with the priority of putting Ireland on the map for China.
There is still much to do, but a good start has been made.
Initiatives such as this trade mission help strengthen existing business relationships between Ireland and China and build new ones. It is also an opportunity to look more closely at the development of commercial and trade links between our two countries and focus in particular on what can be identified as areas of significant future potential. Business between Ireland and China has been growing but there is scope for us to do a lot more together.
The global marketplace has major implications for Irish-Chinese trade. Distance aside, we have all the necessary constituent elements for working more closely together. We have been working hard to build a strong awareness and a positive image of Ireland here. Our similarities are greater than our differences and, in many key respects, we have a similar business culture of enterprise and innovation. We have many business skills and competencies that complement each other very well in terms of selling into world markets.
I would like to make a brief comment on Ireland’s current economic performance, which, I am sure, will be of interest to our Chinese guests. Ireland is now a trading nation with an increasingly global perspective, demonstrated I believe by the size and calibre of this trade mission. Ireland is now recognised as the most globalised country in the world, with the highest degree of economic integration among the developed economies.
The Irish economy is driven by strong export growth. An estimated 85% of Irish manufacturing output is exported, making Ireland, on a per capita basis, one of the world’s top three merchandise and software exporters. Our membership of the European Union was a decisive milestone in opening Ireland to the global marketplace and diversifying its international trade. We look forward very much to January next when we take over the presidency of the European Union.
Ireland’s young, innovative, high tech companies have been successful in competitive world markets because they offer high quality products and business solutions that are tailored to specific customer requirements. They have developed a high diversity of products, services and end-user markets, and continue to develop a stream of innovative products.
One of the aims of today’s breakfast meeting is to further raise the profile of Ireland as a world-class supplier of products and services to the increasingly sophisticated Chinese market. Specifically, we want to promote the product and service capability of Irish companies currently doing business here and to encourage mutually beneficial collaborative business ventures between our two countries.
Irish companies are obviously keen to increase their sales to China. In addition, there is clearly scope for Irish and Chinese companies to join forces in opening up new market opportunities for both in the wider Asia Pacific region. The huge, fast developing economies of Asia Pacific have become a prime target of Irish export development. Similarly, Ireland offers excellent opportunities to Chines companies who are seeking business partnerships in the newly expanded European Union.
In the coming years, the opportunity for additional substantial growth in trade involving our two countries is likely to be stimulated by a mutual emphasis on the concept of business partnership. Trade liberalisation and the revolution in information technology have created a global marketplace where business transcends traditional barriers.
Today’s successful companies must think in terms of global customers and global opportunities, and the most effective way to achieve sales growth is through the creation of strategic alliances among export-led companies. There are already a number of such alliances between Irish and Chinese companies (and some outstanding examples are here with us today) and there is scope for more linkages through investment, technology transfer, joint ventures, sub-contract, and otherforms of joint marketing and trade relationships.
Ireland's active development of markets throughout the EU and our increased access to the fast growing economies of middle Europe such as Hungary, Polandand the other incoming members of the EU, makes it an ideal partner for joint ventures with companies from other parts of the world. Ireland has many companies of proven excellence and performance, with the market access, contact networks and local knowledge to partner you in Europe.
Our host today, Enterprise Ireland, is the trade and technology board of the Irish Government, and is actively supporting Irish companies through a range of initiatives to build market awareness and accelerate sales growth across the globe. Enterprise Ireland works with Irish companies and business interests around the world to develop partnership opportunities for both. In many areas including education, information technology and other high-tech sectors, Ireland has much to offer.
I thank you all for your warm and generous welcome to both Martin and I today.
We are greatly enjoying our visit to your wonderful country and we wish you every
success in your existing and future business relationships.
Feichang Ganxie. Thank you very much.