Ireland, said Premier Zhu Rongji, had won itself the nickname "the little tiger in Europe".
This was news to many at the Dublin Castle dinner on Monday night for the leaders of the mighty dragon of the east, hosted by Bertie Ahern and Celia Larkin. The dinner was attended by the great and the good, from Cardinal Connell to the Ceann Comhairle Seamus Pattison, from dozens of civil servants to businessmen with Far East interests.
Politicians included Ministers Brian Cowen, Dermot Ahern, Liz O'Donnell, Mary Hanafin and Tom Kitt; and Nora Owen and Jim Mitchell from FG. Ruair∅ Quinn staged a boycott.
Two unusual things about the official dinner was the size of the top table, about 30 guests, and the early start, 6.30 for 7 p.m., and finish, 9.15 p.m. The Chinese, of whom 175 accompanied Zhu on his European trip, apparently felt that all ministers should be at the top table, hence its size.
Interpreters were poised between and slightly behind the diners. The dinner in Killarney ended at a similarly early hour. In Dublin they ate smoked salmon and fillet of beef. In Kerry it was lamb.
The visit has been getting extensive coverage back home in China, but strangely the human rights protests have received not a mention.