CHINA will apply unilateral visa-free policy to Ireland to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday.

Li made the remarks when meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at Farmleigh House, the official Irish state guest house, in the Irish capital of Dublin.

Li said China and Ireland have maintained healthy and stable development of their ties since the establishment of their diplomatic relations 45 years ago.

China and Ireland should continuously expand trade, strengthen cooperation in green and low-carbon development, sustainable agriculture, finance and other fields, and expand innovation cooperation in digital economy, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, he said.

It is hoped that Ireland will play a greater role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-Europe relations, said Li.

For his part, Varadkar said that China is an important cooperative partner of Ireland, and the two countries have always adhered to mutual respect and trust.

The Irish side is willing to actively consider providing more convenience for Chinese citizens to visit Ireland, and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Ireland, he noted, adding that Ireland supports further deepening Europe-China cooperation.

Ireland appreciates China’s great achievements in economic and social development, always abides by the one-China principle, and hopes that China will achieve peaceful reunification at an early date, he added.

Ireland stands ready to expand two-way investment with China, strengthen bilateral cooperation in such fields as agriculture, food, innovation, and green development, and deepen people-to-people exchanges in education and culture, Varadkar continued. (Xinhua)