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A joint investment promotion group was set up between China and Ireland on Sunday as the Irish prime minister called for "every effort" to be made to realize the relationship's potential.

The agreement to set up the investment group was signed by the Ministry of Commerce and the Irish Ministry of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

The deal coincides with China seeking more investment opportunities in Europe.

The total value of Chinese investment in Ireland is now $148 million, Vice-President Xi Jinping said on Monday at the China-Ireland Trade and Investment Forum, attended by about 300 company executives from both countries.

Xi said that China's total foreign investment is likely to reach $500 billion in 2015. "This will bring business opportunities for companies from all over the world, Ireland included," he said

China will continue to encourage Chinese firms to invest in Ireland, Xi said and he also welcomed Irish companies to invest in China, especially in the traditional industrial bases of Northeast China.

He called for both countries to cooperate more in high-tech sectors such as software and bio-pharmaceuticals.

China is a reliable friend for Europe and Ireland, Xi said, especially amid efforts to emerge from the eurozone crisis. Xi reiterated China's support for Europe.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said that Ireland's advantages represent "an enormous opportunity for China".

China is one of Ireland's "top international priorities for business development", he said before adding that he looks forward to visiting China in March.

Apart from the investment group, three deals were signed on promoting trade, services and boosting cooperation in higher education between Beijing Technology University and University College Dublin.

The unemployment rate in Ireland stands at 14.5 percent, meaning over 439,000 Irish people are out of work, according to the Irish Voice newspaper. The government last week unveiled an ambitious action plan to create 200,000 jobs in eight years.

China has been Ireland's biggest trading partner in Asia for five consecutive years. Bilateral trade reached $5.87 billion in 2011, an increase of 8.6 percent from 2010.

As the only English speaking country in the eurozone, and a country with a low corporate taxrate of 12.5 percent, Ireland is an ideal place for Chinese investors to access Europe, said Kevin Lynch, founder of the law firm Clerkin Lynch and chairman of the Ireland China Association.

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.