PARIS - French giant oil company Total, which plans to spend more next year to bolster its market share, is looking to China to improve businesses in Asia, a local daily reported on Tuesday.

"We are willing to participate in the construction of a refinery in China. We seek to combine our expertise and know-how with skills of a company of an oil producing country," Michel Benezit, general director of Total's refining and marketing branch told Les Echos.

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"We also intend to expand our distribution network in China, where we have currently two joint ventures with Sinochem and our own network," he added in remarks published in the newspaper's website.

Total is the world's fifth largest hydrocarbons producer which suffered from a slowing growth in oil output over the past couple of years. It plans to strengthen its exploration capacity by bolstering activities in old fields and seeking for wider business opportunities in new markets.

According to previous reports, the French company pledged to increase investment by 22 percent to 2.2 billion euros ($2.91 billion) next year, of which 20 percent will be devoted to boost activities in emerging countries.

Total, which operates in 130 countries, reported a 37 percent rise in the adjusted net profit to 5.3 billion euros over the first half this year from the same period last year.