PARIS: China and France Monday demonstrated their commitment to stronger bilateral ties with lucrative commercial deals and firm political pledges on the second day of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit.

Wen and his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin oversaw the signing of 14 agreements in a wide range of fields following 80 minutes of talks.

In the largest-ever deal with Airbus, China ordered 150 A320 mid-range single-aisle aircraft for six airlines.

The jumbo order, worth US$9.7 billion, will give the European plane maker a big boost in the fast-growing Chinese aviation market, where its rival Boeing currently holds a market share of around 60 per cent.

On Sunday, Airbus also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Development and Reform Commission that could lead to the opening of an assembly line in China.

Harbin Aviation Industries Group Monday inked an agreement with European helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter to jointly produce a new civil aircraft.

The new helicopter of six to seven tons named the EC175 will go into development in 2006 and production is due to start in 2011, Eurocopter said in a statement.

Other contracts signed included one under which French company Alcatel would make a Chinasat 6B telecommunications satellite and a US$175-million financing agreement for the construction of a high-speed rail line in China.

Villepin said all the secured deals added up to "nearly 9 billion euros".

The Chinese delegation, which included the foreign and culture ministers and several senior officials, also signed accords to boost bilateral co-operation in agriculture, education and culture.

In a nod to the growing importance of relations with China, Villepin used the opportunity of a joint media conference with Wen to denounce an EU arms embargo imposed on China in 1989 as an "anachronism."

"It does not reflect the reality of our relations with China, nor the strategic partnership we are building with it," he said, adding that France will continue to work for it to be lifted.

Wen, who earlier met President Jacques Chirac, pledged to push forward the Sino-French comprehensive strategic partnership established in 1997 by expanding common ground and strengthening co-operation.

The Chinese premier, who arrived in Paris for an official visit on Sunday, was to meet representatives from the French employers' federation MEDEF later Monday.

He is scheduled to deliver a speech at elite university Ecole Polytechnique today before going to the southern city of Marseille to visit the Eurocopter factory and then view the nearby site of the experimental nuclear fusion reactor ITER, in which China is a partner. Wen leaves France tomorrow to continue his European tour with visits to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

Source: China Daily/agencies