Wen made the remarks at a press conference after a summit between China and the EU in the Czech Republic. The summit had earlier been postponed following French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland last November while France held the rotating presidency of the 27-nation block.

In February, a Chinese business delegation skirted France and signed deals with other European countries. Wen’s European trip earlier that month also excluded France.

"The delegation yielded positive results. I announce that China will send another purchasing delegation to Europe soon to increase imports from Europe," Wen said.

Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in April China might send the delegation to France, after the two sides issued a joint statement on April 1 in which France promised not to support any form of "Tibet independence".

"China is ready to work with the EU to further promote mutual investments, enhance cooperation in small- and medium-sized enterprises, trade facilitation, science and technology, transportation and post, in an attempt to fight all forms of trade and investment protectionism," Wen said.

He expressed the hope that the EU will loosen control over export restrictions on hi-tech products and nurture new growth potential in economic and trade cooperation to further promote China-EU trade.

Wen also asked the EU to recognise China’s market economy status and lift its arms embargo. The global financial crisis was a focal point of the summit. Wen said: "We have consistent interests in combating the crisis and will join hands to help with world economic recovery."

China and the EU signed agreements on technology, small-and-medium sized enterprises and the establishment of a clean energy center in China.