Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping paid a three-day visit to Ireland following his U.S. trip. In Dublin, he met Irish President Michael Higgins and Prime Minister Enda Kenny, and attended a trade and investment forum involving around 250 Irish and Chinese companies. Kenny said both countries understood the need to reform and innovate. “Just as China has transformed itself in its recent history, so too has Ireland,” he said. A joint investment promotion group was set up between China and Ireland. The total value of Chinese investment in Ireland is now USD148 million. Three deals were signed on promoting trade, services and boosting cooperation in higher education between the Beijing Technology University and University College Dublin. Bilateral trade reached USD5.87 billion in 2011, an increase of 8.6% from 2010. As the only English speaking country in the eurozone, and a country with a low corporate tax rate of 12.5%, 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. On the final stop of his trip, Xi Jinping met Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara and attended a business forum in Istanbul. Several bilateral economic agreements were signed, as well as a CNY10 billion three-year currency swap deal. Trade between the two countries totaled almost USD25 billion last year and both nations aim to double that by 2015, with a further increase to USD100 billion by 2020. Turkish imports of Chinese products accounted for USD21 billion, while exports to China amounted to only USD3 billion.