This article is from page 16 of the 2012-02-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE visit of Chinese vice-president, Mr Xi Jingping to Clare on Saturday and Sunday can have huge spin-off effects for the Shannon region in terms of trade and tourism, the chief executive of Shannon Development has claimed this week.
Dr Vincent Cunnane made his comments after being part of the delegation that welcomed Mr Xi to Shannon on Saturday and after playing host to the vice-president and his entourage at a Bunratty Castle banquet.
“Shannon Development has long established links with China dating back to the 1980s.
“We were honoured to be invited to brief the Chinese Vice President during his visit to Ireland,” said Dr Cunnane.
He pointed out that the objective in briefing Mr Xi was to “to create the environment to enhance good relations between Irish and Chinese businesses” and to educate the Chinese delegation “on all aspects of Shannon Development’s regional economic development remit and particularly on activities at Shannon Free Zone”.
“The linkages between Shannon Development and China began in 1980 with the visit of Mr Jiang Zemin, who was then Senior Vice Minister of State Imports and Exports Administration, and later became President of China,” continued Dr Cunnane. “Mr Jiang led a Chinese Govern- ment delegation to Shannon to study the Shannon Free Zone and the Shannon Development ‘model’ of a regional development company. “The knowledge gained by the Chinese delegation was subsequently used by the Chinese authorities in the development of their very successful Special Economic Zones.” “Mr Jiang Zemin’s visit to Shannon was the beginning of a steady stream of visits which saw two Chinese Pre- miers, and many Chinese Government delegations, come to hear the Shannon Development experience, initially focusing on the Shannon Free Zone and Shannon Development itself, but latterly focusing on our work in regional economic development.
“China has a population of over 1.3 billion, which represents 20 per cent of the world’s population.
“The fact that the Chinese Vice President spent almost three days in Ireland is a major boost,” added Dr. Cunnane.
In highlighting the tourism benefits attached to Mr Xi’s stay in Clare, Dr Cunnane said “the visit to Bunratty Castle and indeed the Cliffs of Mo her will have an enormous impact on Ireland’s tourism promotional efforts in China.
“We are delighted to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Government colleagues to ensure the success of the visit and to raise Ireland’s tourism and business profile in China,” he added.