Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao promised his country will send purchasing missions to Europe soon in order to combat protectionism and help global trade.

“Confidence is the most important thing, more important than gold or currency,” Wen, speaking through a translator, told business leaders in London at a joint session with U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Wen said his country would send “procurement missions” to Europe “as soon as possible” to “purchase commodities and technologies that we need.” He said he hoped these would “help us restore and shore up confidence in the market.”

Brown and Wen both said that moves towards protectionism in the face of worldwide recession would make matters worse. China needs to export goods to Europe and the U.S. to sustain its growth. In Britain, Brown is facing protests from workers angry at jobs going abroad.

“We both want to see an early resumption of the Doha talks to ensure a world trade agreement,” Brown said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 2, 2009 05:22 EST