SHANGHAI -- A senior official from Dunkerque Port in France called for more funds from China in the city on Tuesday in a bid to push forward the port development.

"We have put aside 3,000 hectares of land for sale or lease and many preferential policies will be available to investors," said Daniel Deschodt, commercial director of Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque.

The port has sent a delegation led by Michel Delebarre, mayor of Dunkerque, and Daniel Deschodt, to the city, seeking opportunity of cooperating with local partners.

It signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Port Authority last year. "The cooperation has gone on smoothly," said Deschodt.

At present, half of the containers sent to France and Europe come from Asia via Chinese ports. It means the business relation between China and France is becoming closer, said Francois Soulet de Brugiere, president of French Ports Union.

"We hope to develop further ties with China's coastal ports," said Soulet de Brugiere.

Dunkerque Port, the third largest port in France, handled 42.7 million tons of cargo last year. In the first five months of this year, it dealt with 20.27 million tons of cargo, up 14 per cent over the same period last year, said Deschodt, adding that it is expected to handle about 46 million tons of cargo this year.

Container traffic maintained an increase of 28 per cent with 107,000 TEU in May of this year due to the high volumes of the port's major lines and a few exceptional calls.

Full containers, however, were up 42 per cent at 72,000 TEU, which occupied 67 per cent of the total number of containers compared with 60 per cent in 2010, he said.