Hollande's visit expected to open new chapter (2)

According to Lechervy, there will be no surprises in the messages Hollande intends to deliver to China. Paris aims to have a candid dialogue with Beijing without letting its domestic politics influence its external strategy, he said.

Paul Jean-Ortiz, Hollande's diplomatic adviser, said France intends to establish a closer, more solid strategic partnership with China in all major areas.

"It is necessary for the world's second-largest and fifth-largest economies to have direct and close relations based on mutual trust," he said.

Wu Baiyi, a European studies researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said a rapidly developing China brings many opportunities to the world, and France hopes to seize these opportunities to boost its economic development.

"France plays a very important role in Europe. China-France ties can contribute as an example for China's relations with other European countries, which is politically important for China", Wu said.

Hollande will try to rebalance trade and investment relations with Beijing, with the French government under pressure to narrow its trade deficit with China.

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