Both Ireland and China can benefit from closer economic ties, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, told an audience in Beijing today.
Speaking at Tsinghua University, Mr Ahern said there were many similarities in Ireland and China's approach to economic and social development.
He emphasised "openness and eagerness for international co-operation" and striking a balance between "the ancient and the modern, tradition and innovation, in a way which generates healthy and sustainable progress" as an approach both countries share.
The Asia Strategy put in place by the Government in 1999 emphasised forging closer economic and diplomatic links with China and would be furthered strengthened following the trip.
Taoiseach, Mr Ahern
"The aim of this strategy is to ensure that the Irish Government and Irish enterprise work coherently to develop the important and many dimensional relationship between our two countries," Mr Ahern said.
"Business missions are driving forward our economic links. I hope that Irish and Chinese entrepreneurs will look increasingly at the direct investment opportunities which both countries offer," the Taoiseach said.
He said Ireland's education system was crucial to the country's economic success, recognised the many Chinese students already studying in Ireland and encouraged more to come.
He told students that Ireland's economic development began nearly 40 years after the foundation of the State and that enhanced international engagement had been the catalyst.
Special agencies to implement a policy of economic expansion, particularly through attracting Foreign Direct Investment, had been created at the time, Mr Ahern said. Representatives of some of those bodies are present in China this week for what is the largest Irish trade delegation in history.
He said the delegation was keen to share insights and to learn from the Chinese experience. It includes the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin; the Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin; the Minister for Agriculture, Ms Coughlan; and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Dempsey.
Contacts with China extended beyond economic links, Mr Ahern stressed in his speech: "Relations between China and Ireland are not only deepening. They are also widening. I see my current visit as a platform for a further boost to the political, human, educational, cultural, trade and commercial relations between our two countries."
He also addressed China's human rights record, which has been a source of concern for many countries developing Chinese links - including Ireland.
He said improved diplomatic relations through forums such as the EU/China Human Rights Dialogue, "contribute to building enhanced mutual understanding".
He later met with Premier Wen Jiabao, in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, where such issues were on the agenda.
The Chinese are keen for the EU embargo on arms trading with China to be lifted but commitments on human rights are being sought by the European Commission before the sanction will be eased.
The US are also concerned that China will become a more of a military threat in the future and have lobbied for the embargo to stay in place.
But Mr Ahern reflected the EU's softening attitude in his speech at Tsinghua University. He said China's accession as a permanent member of the UN Security Council increased its role in aiding global security through defusing tensions and preventing conflict.
"The EU's strategic partnership with China has assumed growing importance. I am confident that we are on the threshold of a new and positive phase in EU/China relations. This is a development that we greatly welcome," he said.