IRELAND’S President Michael D Higgins, speaking in Shanghai yesterday, stressed how development must go hand in hand with quality of life.

Higgins, who is on a state visit to China, said at a briefing at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel how impressed he was with the city.

“I think Shanghai has so much going for it. I’ve been enormously struck by the very high level of architecture, the shape, the model of the city and the new developments,” said Higgins.