He emphasised that goal on a trip to inspect the site of the future International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) to be built over the next decade in Cadarache, southern France.

"The energy issue elicits great attention in the whole world, and the ITER site also attracts great attention in the world," he said as he stood on a hilltop clearing upon which will built the cutting-edge fusion reactor facility.

China is one of the seven partners financing the ITER project and providing scientific staff and equipment. The others are the European Union, Japan, the United States, Russia, South Korea -- and, as of Tuesday, India.

"I'll come back in 10 years," Wen quipped, referring to the scheduled date when the reactor is expected to be operational.

The EU is putting up half the 4.6-billion-euro construction (5.4-billion-dollar) cost, with the rest equally divided up among the other partners.

Wen added that he was "very happy to see the ITER established in France."

The decision to locate the site in France was made in June after lengthy negotiations marked by strong competition to host the reactor from Japan -- China's rival in Asia.

ITER aims to create fusion energy -- the same sort of process that occurs at the heart of the Sun, one that is much more powerful than in conventional nuclear power plants -- and find ways to harnass it to one day supplant the world's reliance on dwindling fossil fuels.

It will be home to 400 scientists, two-thirds of them foreign. The reactor is expected to have a life-span of 40 years.

Alain Bugat, the head of France's Commission for Atomic Energy, the body overseeing the Cadarache site, where a much smaller fusion reactor is already located, showed Wen a model of what ITER will look like.

China, Bugat told AFP, was "working out what portion of the project it is going to contribute," along with the other partners. He declined to elaborate.

Beyond the research possibilities of ITER, Wen on Tuesday also made reference to France's bid to win an eight-billion-dollar (6.8-billion-euro) deal to construct four third-generation nuclear energy reactors in China.

"China hopes that France will offer more attractive conditions on technology transfer as well as price so that Franco-Chinese cooperation in this field can develop," he said at an elite French science university in the southern Paris suburbs before travelling to Cadarache.

The French company Areva is fighting to win the contract, but is facing stiff competition from Westinghouse of the United States as well as the Russian AtomStroyExport.

China was to have announced a winner by the end of 2005 but has put off a decision till early next year in the hope of squeezing better terms from the bidders.

Wen, addressing students, professors and business chiefs, insisted that his country's advances in nuclear development and other fields were not a threat, implicitly addressing fears by some analysts that China aims to become a formidable military power.

"Having suffered enormously from foreign invasions, China knows the price of peace. This choice is a logical choice, imposed by China's history and culture. China's development is not a threat but an opportunity for the world," he said.

The Asian giant, which has become the top target for Western companies keen to benefit from its burgeoning economy, has proved adept at making technology transfer a condition for any major deals.

On Monday in Paris, Wen oversaw the signing of a Chinese order to buy 150 Airbus mid-range jets, worth nearly 10 billion dollars at list price.

But the windfall for the European plane-maker only came after it committed to exploring the feasibility of setting up an assembly plant in China.

Other technology products also grabbed Wen's interest.

Before inspecting the ITER site, he spent 30 minutes touring the headquarters of Eurcopter, the helicopter subisidiary of the European Aeronoautic, Defence and Space (EADS) company which also has a controlling share of Airbus.

On Monday Eurocopter announced a 600-million-euro partnership deal with China to share development and production of a new 16-seat aircraft dubbed the

After his ITER visit, Wen went to Marseille to meet Chinese business leaders and community representatives living in France.

On Wednesday, the last day of his four-day French visit, he was to tour the satellite facility of the telecommunications giant Alcatel at Cannes before leaving for Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

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