Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sits in a helicopter during his visit to the European Helicopter Company in Marseille yesterday. Wen is in France for an official visit. (Xinhua photo)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday visited the Eurocopter Group, the major European helicopter maker located in the southern French city of Marseille. Wen was briefed by senior Eurocopter officials on the production and marketing of the company, and inspected various kinds of choppers it has produced.

The premier, who has steadfastly advocated extensive cooperation with foreign countries, encouraged the hierarchy of the Eurocopter Group to make more efforts in cooperation with China's aviation industry.

Wen once got into a blue-colored EC-120 helicopter for a closer look, surrounded by dozens of French and Chinese officials, who accompanied him on his visit to France, the first leg of his five-nation Euro-Asian tour.

The Eurocopter group was established in 1992 from the merger between the helicopter divisions of Aerospatiale-matra of France and Daimler Chrysler Aerospace of Germany. The group is now a subsidiary totally owned by the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company (EADS), one of the three largest aerospace groups in the world.

Eurocopter arranged a flight show of an Airbus-380, which is the latest commercial plane model of the Airbus Group, another EADS subsidiary.

The flight show left a good impression on some officials of Wen's entourage, especially its considerably less noise given its size -- the largest commercial airliner that can seat more than 550 passengers.

Wen flew here Tuesday afternoon after he held talks with French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, met with French President Jacques Chirac and President of the French National Assembly Jean-louis Debre in Paris on Monday.