25 Chinese businesses operated in the Republic of Ireland in 2020. This year, the figure had increased to forty.
Some see Ireland’s recent influx of yuan as a chance to lessen its dependency on serving as the European home base for US IT behemoths like Apple and Alphabet. It also generates more jobs.
However, a growing number of detractors associate Ireland, where Chinese corporations are based, with the accusations of human rights violations made against some of these businesses. Among them is the Chinese apparel company Shein, which has its European headquarters located in Dublin as of May 2023.
Shein has long faced criticism for the treatment of the garment industry workers. It also had to acknowledge earlier this year that it had discovered child labor in its supply chain.
Additionally, the Irish government finds itself in a difficult diplomatic situation as it attempts to court numerous Chinese enterprises that the US has sanctioned.
Huawei, a telecom corporation, and WuXi Biologics, a pharmaceutical company, are two examples.
Dara Calleary, Ireland’s Minister of State for Trade Promotion, applauded in May a report that highlighted Huawei’s €800 million ($889 million; £668 million) annual economic contribution to the country. The company has three R&D facilities in Ireland.
