"This is the first year now since the pandemic that we have an Ireland pavilion, so we're very excited to be here," Joseph Keating, trade counsellor of the Irish Embassy in China, told China Today at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in China's eastern city of Shanghai on November 5, 2023. 

This year's expo, scheduled from November 5 to 10, has attracted over 3,400 exhibitors, with 394,000 professional visitors registering, signifying a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels. The participants are from 154 countries, regions and international organizations. 

Ireland, as a frequenter of the annual event, the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, has brought a range of high-quality food products this year, including milk powder from grass-fed cows, organic chocolate and whisky and gin, with many of them being showcased at the CIIE for the first time. 

China's burgeoning market has boosted Ireland's confidence in bilateral trade development. "The products of our member companies have sold very well in China after the promotion at CIIE in the previous years. We want to promote more high-quality products through CIIE among more customers in China," Liu Yupeng, chairman of the Industry and Commerce Association of Ireland, told China Today. 

China is Ireland's fourth largest goods trading partner and Ireland's fastest growing major import market. The bilateral trade in goods has been hitting a high in recent years. According to official statistics, the import and export volume of China-Ireland trade in goods reached 28.33 billion euro, up almost 38 percent year on year. 

Besides the enormous market, the CIIE also provides an excellent opportunity for foreign countries to promote their high-quality goods. "In recent years, China has moved to be the largest middle-class society in the world. They are now demanding higher quality import products. So we'll be delighted to be able to supply some of that… Given (Ireland's) geographical location, purest water and freshest air, we'd like to share the products that we have with Chinese consumers and get them interested in the high-quality products," Keating said.

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