On the eve of his official visit to Ireland, Vice President Xi Jinping gave a written interview to The Irish Times on 18 February 2012. He answered questions on the goal of the visit, China-Ireland relations, the importance of the European Union and China's development.

With regard to the visit, Xi Jinping said that Ireland, also called the Emerald Isle, is well-known in China, and the Chinese people cherish friendly sentiments towards this country. The Riverdance has many Chinese fans. The theater is packed with audience every time the show comes to China. The institutional innovation and economic miracles in Ireland have offered China much food for thought in conducting reform and opening-up. The sons and daughters of Irish descent enjoy the great admiration of the Chinese people with their enterprising spirit and enormous contribution to the development around the world.

According to Xi, he visited Ireland in 2003 and was deeply impressed by the country's natural beauty and achievements in development. At the invitation of Taoiseach Kenny, he will go to Ireland on an official visit for an in-depth exchange of views with Irish leaders on China-Ireland relations, looking for ways to further friendship and practical cooperation and bring the relationship to a new high. China hopes that Ireland will play a greater role in the EU in promoting China-EU relations.

Xi said that during the visit, the relevant authorities of the two countries will sign a series of cooperation documents in addition to holding the China-Ireland Trade and Investment Forum. Xi expressed the hope that Chinese and Irish business communities will seize the opportunity to reach some cooperation agreements and advance the solid implementation of mutually beneficial cooperative projects.

On China-Ireland relations and the future development of bilaterall cooperation, Xi said that during the past 30 years and more since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Ireland have always respected each other and treated each other as equals. Though different in system and culture, they have not let those differences hinder their exchanges and cooperation. The trade and economic relations are win-win and mutually beneficial. Two-way trade in 2011 reached US$5.87 billion. For five consecutive years, China has been Ireland's largest trading partner in Asia. In the past three years, Ireland has run a surplus in its trade with China. Cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have been very fruitful. Right now, Ireland hosts over 10,000 Chinese students, more than any other EU country on a per capita basis.

Xi pointed out that to build a closer China-Ireland relationship serves the common interests of both countries and peoples. China hopes that the two sides will make new progress in the following three areas: First, they should maintain close high-level contacts and enhance inter-agency exchanges at various levels with a view to increasing political mutual trust and cooperation in bilateral and multilateral affairs. Second, they should pursue common development and bring the mutually beneficial cooperation to a higher and broader level. It is of particular importance to fully tap the cooperation potential in biotechnology, communication technology, agriculture and other priority areas and scale up two-way trade and investment. Third, they should intensify cultural and people-to-people exchanges. They should encourage cultural and art groups and artists from both countries to interact and cooperate with each other, create favorable conditions for exchanges in tourism, education and other sectors, and further elevate the level of such cooperation.

Xi added that China is optimistic about the prospects of China-Ireland cooperation. China hopes that the two countries will continue to support each other, learn from each other and make progress together on the way of development through cooperation.

On whether the EU has become less important because of its sovereign debt crisis, Xi said that it is true that the EU now faces some difficulties and challenges and there are some pessimistic voices about Europe in the world, but the EU has a high degree of political consensus on overcoming difficulties and crisis and preserving and advancing the outcomes of European integration. China does not think one should "talk down" or "short" Europe, because China believes that the difficulties facing Europe are temporary, and the EU and the governments and people across Europe have the ability, the wisdom and the means to solve the sovereign debt problem and achieve economic recovery and growth.

Xi emphasized that the EU is the world's largest economy and China's top trade partner. With the development of China-EU relations and continued expansion of bilateral cooperation, the EU will be even more important for China. China takes its relationship with Europe as one of the strategic priorities of its diplomacy, and supports the process of European integration and the efforts of EU members, Ireland included, to overcome difficulties and achieve economic recovery. China has offered sincere help to its European friends as its ability permits through increased mutual investment and business cooperation. China will continue to support, in its own way, efforts of the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in addressing the European debt problem. A Europe that is united, stable and prosperous will definitely make valuable contribution to the strong, balanced and sustainable growth of the world economy.

On China's development, Xi said that China has made tremendous achievements in development over the past 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic, particularly in the past 30 years and more since the beginning of reform and opening-up. China's GDP is now the second largest in the world, and the livelihood of the Chinese people has improved substantially. Once living in poverty, the 1.3 billion Chinese people today not only have adequate food and clothing, but also enjoy a life of moderate prosperity, and their right to subsistence and development has been effectively guaranteed. Progress has also been made in improving the socialist democratic system with Chinese features, evidenced by continued expansion of political participation by the general public who make proposals on the development of the country and keep an effective watch over the work of government.

Xi emphasized that China remains the largest developing country in the world. It has a large population, a low starting point in development, and its development is uneven among different regions. China is not rich in natural resources. Its per capita recoverable reserves of crude oil and natural gas are less than 1/10 of the world's average and its per capita renewable fresh water resources only 1/3 of the world's average. China's per capita GDP ranks after the 90th place in the world, and there are still 150 million people living with less than one dollar a day. In China, any development achievement, however big it may be, will become very small once divided by 1.3 billion, the figure of its population; any problem, however small it may be, will become very big once multiplied by 1.3 billion. That is why China is proud of the achievements it has made through hard work and, at the same time, it is soberly aware of the problems and difficulties in the process of development.

On whether China's development will provide more opportunities to the world, Xi said that China's economy grew by 10.4% in 2010 and 9.2% in 2011 year on year. The slowdown in China's economic growth was, to a large extent, the result of its own macro-control measures. At the same time, the notable weakening in external demand, the slowdown in domestic investment demand and difficulties in increasing domestic consumption all affected economic growth to varying degrees.

Xi emphasized that in each of the past five years, China contributed to over 20% of global growth, thus becoming an important engine for world economic development. Starting from this year, China has lowered the target of economic growth. This will help reduce the pressure in terms of price, energy, resources and the environment. It will also help China accelerate the shift in growth model and increase the quality and efficiency of economic development. The overall approach to China's economic and social development this year is to seek steady progress and there will not be a drastic fall in the growth rate. China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for pursuing development, and will enjoy many favorable conditions to maintain stable and relatively fast economic growth for a fairly long period of time. In the next five years, China's total imports will reach US$8 trillion, and its annual overseas investment will exceed US$100 billion. This means an even bigger market and a lot more opportunities for the world and broader space for cooperation. For Ireland and other European countries, China is a force they can cooperate with in tackling the crisis and achieving recovery, and a partner they can trust in international and multilateral affairs.