Irish seek to beef up agriculture agreements

SHANNON, Ireland - The Irish see greater cooperation on agricultural trade as an excellent opportunity to increase their dairy and food exports to China.

The message from Ireland's Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney comes as Vice-President Xi Jinping arrived in the west coast town of Shannon on Saturday on a three-day visit.

But Coveney also has concerns about the import tariffs China charges on products from the European Union and its ban of EU beef since the outbreak of mad-cow disease in 2000.