Educational exchanges between China and Ireland have been hailed at a event hosted on Tuesday by the Irish Embassy in Beijing which sought to promote ongoing and new joint educational initiatives between the two countries.
Co-hosted by Enterprise Ireland and Education in Ireland, the gathering showcased a range of cooperation achievements and unveiled the latest progress in higher education collaboration between Ireland and China.
It comes as Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin is paying an official visit to China from Jan 4 to 8.
Addressing the event, Martin said his country hopes to further deepen cooperation and foster friendship with Chinese partners.
"We have to ensure that the learning experience of our international students involved in the joint programs is inclusive, is of the highest quality possible, and that's what we must always strive to attain," he said.
The event also invited prominent university figures from Ireland, including Paul Fanning, provost of the Beijing-Dublin International College, a joint institution between University College Dublin (UCD) and the Beijing University of Technology (BJUT) which was founded in 2012.
"Having that ability to be able to live, work and learn in the multicultural environment in what is now a very, very interconnected world is very, very important. And I think that particularly gives [benefits to the] Chinese students in the joint colleges where they are getting the two cultures, the Chinese culture and the Irish culture," said Fanning.
In recent years, joint educational programs between the two sides have maintained steady growth. Data showed that the total number of joint education institutions and programs reached 110 by July 2025, with over 12,000 students currently enrolled.
With the continued launch of new projects in this field, student enrollment is expected to exceed 15,000 by September 2026.
Industry insiders and education leaders believe that these developments will lay a stronger foundation for long-term cooperation in higher education, creating a more stable and sustainable platform for future collaboration between China and Ireland.
The continued expansion of joint programs underscores the mutual commitment to fostering cross-cultural understanding and academic excellence, insiders say.
China, Ireland strengthen higher education ties with new joint programs
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
