Premier Wen a staunch advocate of free trade

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at a press conference on Sunday that he's a staunch supporter of free trade, in response to a question about China's stand towards increasing protectionist measures against China's exports.

Wen said he sincerely hoped that the US and Europe would acknowledge China's market economy status and lift bans on high-tech exports to China.

He said although China had become the largest exporter, 50 percent of its exports were processing trade and 60 percent of China's exports were generated from foreign enterprises or joint ventures. So trade protectionism also had a negative impact on foreign companies, he added.