Britain and France are now the main target countries in the European Union for illegal immigrants from China, according to a senior EU official.
While there is no evidence of significant numbers of illegal Chinese immigrants who arrive in Britain moving on to Ireland, it is something that cannot be ruled out in the future, an EU Commission source said.
An EU delegation on illegal trafficking of humans arrived in Beijing yesterday to begin talks with China on developing strategies to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into Europe.
At a press briefing, the head of the EU team, Mr Jonathan Scheele, said the delegation would discuss measures to curb illegal immigration from China, including the exchange of information, combating the use of forged documents and an information campaign to discourage illegal immigration.
The issue of speeding up the identification of immigrants and their repatriation is also to be discussed at a meeting with Chinese officials today.
After formal talks today the EU team will travel to the southern provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, the source of most illegal immigration.
The problem of illegal Chinese immigrants into Europe was highlighted last June when 58 Chinese immigrants were found suffocated in a truck at Dover.
An EU Commission source said it was possible that illegal Chinese who arrive in Britain may move on to Ireland, which has a huge demand for jobs in the service sectors. "It is not something we have evidence of at the moment, but who is to say that it won't be a problem in the future?"
The Dover tragedy resulted in the EU pressing China to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and to crack down on Chinese "snakeheads", those who organise the trafficking of humans.
Last week China claimed immigrants were favouring Europe as a destination following the tightening up of borders in the US and Australia.
It was reported yesterday that 29 people were arrested in Hong Kong in connection with a $2.56 million Australian immigration scam.