Chinese President Xi Jinping has accepted an invitation from President Michael D Higgins to visit Ireland.

Mr Higgins extended the invitation when the two leaders met for talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

No date has yet been set for the visit.

It would be the second time President Xi has visited Ireland, following his previous trip to the country in 2012 when he was vice president.

President Xi said he recalled with fondness his previous trip to Ireland.

He said he was very glad that since that visit bilateral relations between the two countries had gone to the next level in many areas, including trade and other areas of cooperation.

Next year will mark 35 years since the establishment of bilateral relations between China and Ireland.

President Xi said he hoped this would be the starting point in taking relations to a new level.

President Higgins and his wife Sabina are currently guests of honour at a State dinner hosted by the Chinese leader and his wife Peng Liyuan.

President Higgins earlier inspected a guard of honour and was cheered by around 100 school children carrying flowers and Irish flags.

After the ceremonial greeting, the two leaders held official talks for around an hour.

Meanwhile, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has urged Chinese business leaders to invest in creating operations in Ireland.

He was addressing an IDA Ireland dinner for key potential investors in Beijing.

The minister described Ireland as a friend of China and outlined its advantages, including a strong track record of foreign direct investment, a highly-talented workforce, a low rate of corporation tax, and the fact that Ireland is the only English-speaking country in the eurozone.

Eight of the world’s top ten ICT companies operate in Ireland, as do nine out of the top ten pharmaceutical firms, he noted.

Mr Noonan told the audience that 50% of global aviation leasing is based in Ireland.

The financial services sector was particularly strong with over 50 global banks, including Chinese institutions operating in the country, he said.

He also told the audience that eight of the top ten fund managers and 43% of the world's hedge funds had offices in Ireland.

The minister said that China was an amazing country, which was now standing at a historic junction.

Ireland hoped to deepen its relationship with China over the coming years, he added.