Sir, – Since my return to China two weeks ago, many of my local friends have expressed a lot of interest in Ireland due to the visit of vice-president Xi Jinping.
As I have been asked to organise a local event to mark St Patrick’s Day, I thought to try to contact any Irish businesses currently exporting to China, and Fáilte Ireland, with a view to getting some sponsorship and raising Irish brand awareness.
I have been met with a resounding silence from all sides.
This is an ideal opportunity for Irish export companies to promote their products, but it seems that outside of Beijing or Shanghai, there is no interest in doing so.
Even though I am in a relatively small city by Chinese standards – Changsha in Hunan Province has about six million people – there is still the potential to grow the market within the country, or even raise the profile of the country. – Yours, etc,