Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday pointed to China's "logical choice" of peace because of its history and culture while seeking to allay anxiety about its fast rise.

"Having suffered enormously from foreign invasions, China knows the price of peace," Wen said."This choice is a logical choice, dictated by China's history and culture."

He argued that growing domestic demand in China will eventually lead to new opportunities for foreign exporters, apparently in response to widespread fears in France that China's low costs and poor standards of social security are sucking in economic activity and driving up unemployment in Europe.

"China's development is not a threat but an opportunity for the world," Wen stressed, adding that Chinese society "is in constant change."

The premier was addressing the students at the Ecole Polytechnique, one of France's oldest and most prestigious university-level schools for science and engineering.

Wen arrived in France on Sunday for a four-day trip, which has seen the signing of a cluster of commercial and cultural agreements, including a record order for 150 A320 aircraft worth nearly US$10 billion.

His visit to the 200-year-old polytechnique at Palaiseau was the occasion for a partnership agreement with three Chinese universities to introduce new exchange programmes and shared qualifications.

"I am in a very good mood because I love to meet dynamic young people who represent the future of the world," said Wen, who was offered the school's famous hat following his speech.

Quipping that student exchanges are "more important than the purchase of 150 Airbus aircraft," he said that "if economic co-operation between our countries represents the present, cultural co-operation is the future."

On Monday, Wen announced at a joint news conference with his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin that 400 young French people would be invited to China next year as part of efforts to boost Sino-French youth exchanges in culture.

During a question-and-answer session, Wen said France must improve its offer in terms of both cost and transfer of technology if it wants to win a massive contract to build third-generation nuclear reactors in China.

"China hopes that France will offer more attractive conditions on technology transfer as well as price so that French-Chinese co-operation in this field can develop," he said.

The French company Areva is bidding for a US$8 billion deal to construct four reactors in China, but is facing stiff competition from Westinghouse of the US as well as AtomStroyExport of Russia.

Wen was due to fly south later yesterday to the city of Marseille.