Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said confidence is returning to his country's economy and investing in Ireland will be rewarding for Chinese investors, despite worrying signs from recent statistics.

Wrapping up his first-ever China visit, which took him to Shanghai and Beijing in the past four days, Kenny gave a nod when asked if he thought that China could obtain high technology by investing in Europe.

"Yes, I do, and many of the high-tech specialists in Ireland actually offer technology that would be complementary and benefit here in China," Kenny told China Daily on Wednesday in an exclusive interview. He cited Europe's programs for urbanization, water, environment and renewable energy as examples.

His words came a day after an agreement was signed between the National Treasury Management Agency of Ireland and China Investment Corporation International, a subsidiary of China's sovereign wealth fund.

"The prospect of substantial Chinese investment in Ireland, possibly including the purchase of Irish state assets, has increased," The Irish Times commented on Wednesday.

But even though Ireland is "one of the most open economies in the world", what Kenny may need to do first is to try to make Chinese investors confident about investing in the country, because recent statistics don't look promising.

The Central Statistics Office of Ireland said last week that GDP fell 0.2 percent in the October-December quarter.

For 2011 as a whole, Irish GDP grew 0.7 percent but underlying GNP fell 2.5 percent. Irish GDP has fallen for three straight years: 3 percent in 2008, 7 percent in 2009 and 0.4 percent in 2010.

Despite these statistics, Kenny said: "The fact is that employment has been stabilized and is starting to grow. Our own growth figures for 1.3 percent growth for next year are based on medium-term assessments."

The unemployment rate in Ireland stands at 14.5 percent. Kenny's government in February unveiled a plan to create 200,000 jobs in eight years. "For the first time in a decade we have a balance of trade surplus. We have deposits flowing back into our banks. We have very strong investment lines into the country. Our exports are booming. Confidence is returning to the Irish economy," he said.

Irish exports to China exceeded $4 billion in 2011, up 6 percent on the previous year, IrishCentral.com reported.

Enterprise Ireland, the country's state enterprise agency responsible for the promotion of indigenous enterprises, has said that Irish-owned firms were responsible for 6.4 percent of Irish exports to China in 2011.

It announced that indigenous Irish exports to China grew by 10 percent in 2011, for the second year in a row, and the agency is aiming for a further 15 percent growth in 2012.

Kenny said Ireland could increase exports to China in many sectors, including life sciences, the agriculture sector, science and technology, culture and education.

In terms of what China could do in Ireland, Kenny mentioned "the development of further infrastructure in Ireland, tourism and investment, and also the acquisition of commercial properties for investment and development".

Kenny said Ireland has "always recommended the lifting of the embargo in respect of arms in regard to China".

Ireland will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2013. "I've already said to Premier Wen Jiabao that Ireland would work, during that presidency, constructively to improve the understanding and relationships between Europe and China."

You may contact the writers at zhanghaizhou@chinadaily.com.cn and zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn