?China expected France to take new steps in pushing the European Union (EU) for positive policies toward China, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday.

The relations between China and France were of important influence to China's links with the EU, said Wen during a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Brussels.

China attached great importance to developing ties with France and appreciated France's willingness to enhance cooperation with China, said Wen.

He hoped the two countries could expand cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, high-tech and energy on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

Wen also expected the two sides to conduct close coordination within multilateral mechanisms like the UN and the Group of 20 for building a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Sarkozy said China made important contributions to combating the global financial crisis and played a positive role in international affairs. He pledged that France would work with China to jointly advance France-China and EU-China ties.

Premier Wen made a five-point proposal on advancing Asia-Europe cooperation when addressing the opening of the ASEM summit.

Wen arrived in Brussels for the summit after concluding his visit in Greece earlier in the day. He is also to attend the a China-EU summit in Brussels and then continue his four-nation visit which also will take him to Italy and Turkey.