French President Francois Hollande speaks at a gymnasium during the traditional Chinese New Year festivities in Paris in January 2012. Johanna Leguerre / AFP

"Over the past few years, French agricultural companies have been facing several obstacles in exporting to China. Hollande should look to facilitate more agricultural exports from France to China," he says.

Jing Men, professor of China-EU relations at the College of Europe, says that while France expects to receive more orders from China and gain greater access to the Chinese market, it is more interesting to see what France can offer to China.

"There are still lots of limitations regarding China-France trade, especially in the high technology fields. If France can loosen the embargos and boost exports of high value-added and technology intensive products to China, it will stimulate bilateral trade significantly and help ease economic strains," Men says.

In the meantime, luring more Chinese investment to France and reassuring Chinese investors that France remains an attractive destination is also high on Hollande's agenda, as he is under pressure to stimulate the ailing French economy and create more jobs.

France has already become the top destination for Chinese investment in Europe. There are over 240 Chinese companies in France and the combined value of their investments exceeds $1.8 billion. Chinese investment has created more than 7,000 jobs, according to Invest in France Agency, a government body that facilities foreign investment.

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In order to ensure that France remains an attractive destination for foreign investment, the French government has vowed to initiate ambitious structural reforms to stabilize the eurozone, reduce national debt, and increase productivity and competitiveness, says French Finance Minister Moscovici.

"We certainly want to be more attractive. The president will try to explain that France remains very efficient and China should buy and invest more here," says Paul Hunsinger, special representative of the director-general for international affairs at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Multilateral issues

Hollande's visit to China is being widely watched by experts, as it will be a meeting of the second and fifth largest economies in the world.

Both China and France are also members of the Security Council of the United Nations and hence stronger Sino-French cooperation and coordination will have far-reaching implications on several key international issues such as Iran and Korean Peninsula nuclear issues and the French operation against terrorism in Africa, analysts say.

Francois Godement, China specialist and professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, notes that the visit will allow France to assess the new Chinese government leaders' intentions toward Europe and France.

"France is seeking a confirmation of China's readiness to deal multilaterally with global issues ranging from nuclear non-proliferation to climate change," he says.

He says it is important for China and France to renew dialogue on multilateral issues within the European Union including the investment treaty and macro-economic and monetary policies.

Since he took office in May last year, Hollande has made Asia a key focus of France's foreign policy. Experts say that the timing of Hollande's visit to China and the fact that he is the first head of state from the eurozone to meet Beijing's new leaders soon after they took office reflects the French intention to raise its profile in the region.

"France has strategic interests in the stability of Asia because it has essential trade relations there. We need emerging and developed Asian countries to contribute to the global order in proportion with their resources," Godement says.

He notes that while France has no claim in the region it does have a strategic agenda in the region when it comes to nuclear proliferation, peaceful resolution of regional disputes and cooperation on energy security.