Irish Deputy Prime Minister Michael McDowell and Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan pledged on Monday in Dublin to further deepen their bilateral cooperation in various fields.

McDowell said China had become one of Ireland's most important trading partners. Ireland highly valued its relations with China and was willing to promote bilateral exchanges in the fields of politics, trade, culture, science and education, he said.

For his part, Zeng said the two countries had maintained good ties, exchanged frequent high-level visits, and strengthened their cooperation on international and regional issues.

Zeng also expressed gratitude toward Ireland's recognition of China's full market economy status and its support for China on the anti-dumping issue.

He also expressed the hope to further consolidate the achievements made in bilateral exchanges and promote cooperation between small and medium sized enterprises in the two countries, as well as to boost mutual investments.

Ireland is the third leg of Zeng's four-nation tour, which has already brought him to Hungary and Belgium, and will take him to Norway on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua