Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Yue Xiaoyong (1st L) addresses a function at the office building of the Economic and Commercial Section of the Chinese Embassy in Ireland, on Sept. 28, 2018. A total of 27 Irish companies have confirmed to participate in the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE), the first of its kind ever to be held by China in its eastern coastal city of Shanghai in November, said Yue here on Friday night. (Xinhua)

DUBLIN, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 27 Irish companies have confirmed to participate in the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE), the first of its kind ever to be held by China in its eastern coastal city of Shanghai in November.

The figure was announced by Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Yue Xiaoyong, while addressing a function held here on Friday night at the office building of the Economic and Commercial Section of the Chinese Embassy in Ireland.

According to Yue, the Irish exhibitors mainly come from the agriculture and food sectors as well as the sectors of high technology, culture and education, consumer products and intelligent equipment.

Irish Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, will lead an official delegation to Shanghai to attend the event, said Ambassador Yue, adding that Irish Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle, will also attend the CIIE during his trip to China.

Yue said that holding the first edition of CIIE is a major measure taken by the Chinese government to demonstrate its strong determination to further open up the Chinese market to the rest of the world as well as its strong support for trade liberalization and economic globalisation.

CIIE will not only provide a new opportunity for countries around the world to increase their exports to China but also a platform for doing business and sharing business opportunities among different countries, he said.

According to the ambassador, in the next five years, China is expected to import products and services worth more than 8 trillion U.S. dollars, which will provide enormous business opportunities for all countries including Ireland.

He encouraged Irish companies who missed the chance to attend the first edition of CIIE to attend the event in the future, which will be annually held in China.

He said the relationship between China and Ireland is now at its strongest time. Last year, the total value of the bilateral trade between China and Ireland reached a record high of 11 billion U.S. dollars, up nearly 37 percent over the previous year, he said, adding that the the bilateral trade between the two countries was valued at 6.71 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2018, up by 24.4 percent over a year ago.

Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia (Irish Food Board),a government agency responsible for helping Irish companies to market their agricultural and food products overseas, attended the function among other Irish officials and representatives from different Irish business sectors.

McCarthy said that China is a very important market for Ireland and it is now the the third largest export market for the Irish food industry and the second largest export market for the Irish dairy and pork products.

She believed that the upcoming CIIE will surely serve an impetus to the bilateral trade between Ireland and China.

CIIE will be held on November 5-10. So far more than 2,800 companies from over 130 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the event.