DUBLIN - Ireland, which waded through four years of economic recession, greatly valued foreign direct investment and it hoped to see more Chinese investment, said an official of a business park outside Dublin.

"We would very much welcome Chinese companies using Shannon as an access point into Europe," said Vincent Cunnane, chief executive of Shannon Development, in an interview with Xinhua.

With exports in the country on the increase, the Irish government has been stressing the importance of foreign direct investment to aid Ireland's recovery and the country has several export zones to choose from, said

Located in the west of Ireland, The Shannon Free Zone is the country's largest multi-sectoral business park outside of Dublin and employs nearly 7,000 people. Over one hundred companies have invested in the zone which generates sales of more than 3 billion euro each year.

The Shannon Free Zone has a long standing history with China and Cunnane said he welcomes any Chinese investment in the zone and further cooperation between the two countries.

In 1980, Jiang Zemin, then vice minister for China's State Foreign Investment Regulatory Commission and later Chinese president, led a top-level delegation to Shannon.

The Chinese government was keen to explore the concept of a specially designed export zone and subsequently established a number of special economic development zones in regions such as Guangdong and Fujian.

"We've had many study visits from China, I believe a lot of Chinese people don't know where Ireland is but they know where Shannon is because of that economic heritage that we share and I think that's something that we want to build on," said Cunnane.

Though there are currently no Chinese companies in the zone, Cunnane said there were many opportunities and benefits to choosing Ireland and the Shannon Free Zone as an European base.

"We have one of the youngest populations in Europe," he said, "Those young people are highly educated .. We have a very good infrastructure, both roads and rail and increasingly broadband networks."

While the zone offers the usual perks of a young educated workforce and strong infrastructure, it is also located directly beside Shannon airport offering a quick and easy passage to the rest of Europe.

"Europe has a 500-million-people market and Ireland provides access into that market," said Cunnane.

"It's a gateway into Europe, it's English speaking which everybody is these days and we have 12.5-percent corporation tax rate which is very attractive for companies coming in."

Several companies already based in the Shannon Free Zone have strong links to China and have recognized the trade advantages of the region.

One such company Speciality Cutting Tools provides parts for a number of Chinese aircraft firms and almost 30 percent of the company's exports are to China. Few export zones boast such active ties with China and Cunnane said, "this is the place where Chinese companies should come to, I really do believe that."

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