Irish PM Martin arrives in China

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a five-day visit to China.

On the invitation of counterpart Li Qiang, Martin would go to Beijing and the economic powerhouse Shanghai, meeting with Li as well as President Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry said in a statement. It would be the first by an Irish Prime Minister since 2012. The foreign ministry also said it hoped the upcoming visit would promote sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations.