By John Follain

PARIS, April 12 (Reuter) - Chinese Premier Li Peng, in his only speech during a visit marred by human rights protests and a diplomatic clash, urged Paris on Friday to iron out differences with Beijing and promised lucrative business rewards.

Dangling the carrot of economic growth before an audience of business leaders in a gilded salon of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, he said that China's import-export market would grow to $400 billion in the year 2000 from $280 billion last year.

"We have to find a solution to resolve differences -- that is finding areas of agreement while leaving aside divergences and treating each other in a friendly manner," Li said shortly after China signed six more trade deals with France.

"That is the only way we will be able to continue to strengthen our bilateral relations," Li insisted.

He had been due to speak at a banquet given in his honour by Prime Minister Alain Juppe on Wednesday. But the Chinese leader objected to Juppe's plan to refer in general terms to human rights in his speech, and the exchange of toasts was cancelled after a 90-minute diplomatic standoff.

French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette played down the incident, dubbing it a "chance mishap."

Li made no specific mention of human rights in his speech. He urged the two countries, as members of the U.N. Security Council, to "intensify consultations, coordinate positions and work together to preserve world peace."

Pledging that French companies would share in China's growth, which he forecast at eight percent per year over the next five years, he also promised that China would cut import duties to an average 15 percent from the current 23 percent.

The biggest of the six accords signed at the Chamber of Commerce, worth an estimated 650 million francs ($130 million) over two years, extended a pact under which China's Sinochem imports oil from France's Elf Acquitaine.

The others covered the purchase of a tunnelling machine for the Shanghai underground railway, cables for a hydro-electric power station and medical equipment for hospitals.

The contracts, including a gas liquefaction plant which the French Foreign Ministry initially said was signed on Wednesday, were worth a total one billion francs ($200 million).

But they were dwarfed by a $1.5 billion contract, signed on Wednesday, to purchase 30 European Airbus A320 short-haul aircraft which was the main reward for France's red-carpet welcome for Li Peng.

French Transport Minister Bernard Pons told Reuters: "The results have been very positive. There is no point in pulling a long face. The international reaction in the last few hours shows these agreements are far from negligable."

He was referring to expressions of concern by the U.S. Boeing Co, which has dominated the Chinese aerospace market.

Pons said the most promising development was a letter of intent to study the construction of a 100-seater passenger plane for the Chinese domestic market which France's Aerospatiale signed with Aviation Industries of China on Thursday.

"That will enable China to be a partner with Europe in our medium-haul large aircraft project," he said in a reference to Airbus Industrie's so-called 3XX strategic probramme to build a 400-to-500-seat plan to rival Boeing's 747 jumbo jet.

While the value of the contracts signed in France fell well short of the bonanza reaped by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Beijing in 1994, French officials said it showed Paris had regained an equal place in the competition for Chinese business.

China had punished France in 1992 for its sale of 60 Mirage fighter bombers and frigates to Taiwan by slashing its share of trade and ordering Paris to close its consulate in Guangzhou.

Symbolically, Li agreed on this trip to allow France to reopen the consulate.

Isolated protests against Li's visit continued as he concluded his talks with political leaders -- ex-president Valery Giscard d'Estaing and ex-prime minister Edouard Balladur.

Socialist International President Pierre Mauroy sent an open letter to Li protesting against the "deprivation of liberty" of the Tibetan people and the "inhuman conditions" in which political opponents were detained.

And in the southwest city of Toulouse, France's aerospace capital which Li will visit on Saturday, some 200 protesters marched to denounce the Chinese leader, blamed for crushing a 1989 student-led democracy movement.