Senior executives at IDA Ireland will make the State agency's first official visit to China this week to investigate its potential as a source of inward investment.

The mission will meet Chinese officials and executives to lay the groundwork for an IDA strategy to attract investment projects into Ireland from the world's fastest-growing economy. The agency will talk to Chinese companies about the potential for locating their European sales and support centres in the Republic.

IDA hopes that attracting high-value Chinese inward investment to Ireland will help it offset the movement of lower-value manufacturing jobs - particularly in textiles - to China.

A recent example of this trend is the decision by US firm Unifi to shut its Donegal textile plant next month and move production to plants in China, with more than 300 workers in Letterkenny losing their jobs as a result.

An IDA spokesman described the trip as "exploratory" but said there was no doubt that China was a rapidly growing economy that couldn't be ignored. "I don't know what potential China has for the IDA but we are taking a look at what prospects there are for inward investment or creating new partnerships in China that will help investment."

Details of the programme of events for the inaugural mission were not released by the IDA to The Irish Times. However, it is understood the IDA officials will meet a number of Irish firms that are already working in China to help build relationships with their Chinese counterparts.

Up until now no mainland Chinese firms have made substantial investments in Ireland supported by the IDA. But there are signs that Chinese firms are beginning to establish global brands and now need to set up operations to sell into the European region.

One examples of growing Chinese financial muscle is the Chinese firm TCL, which is now the largest colour television maker in the world