The Chinese vice-premier Zeng Peiyan yesterday concluded his three-day trip to Ireland by visiting Cork where he was given a tour of one of the States's leading information and communications technology centres.
Mr Peiyan was welcomed to Cork by Lord Mayor Michael Ahern before taking a tour of the Tyndall Institute at University College, Cork.
Mr Peiyan spent an hour at various research projects in the institute, which is the largest multi-disciplinary research centre in the State and is recognised as a world class centre of excellence in information and communications technology.
Mr Peiyan (67) is a senior electronics engineer by profession and was keen to visit the Tyndall Institute.
Earlier in Dublin, at a business breakfast attended by Mr Peiyan, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin argued that, of all bilateral links, the most important was education, with 15 Irish universities and institutes of technology now running joint programmes with their Chinese third-level counterparts.
"We are keen to expand our relationships with China and we are proud of that fact that Ireland, one of the smaller countries of the world in size and population, has developed the capabilities to build a successful and fast expanding trading relationship with the world's largest market," Mr Martin said.
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