But the imbalance, partly from France’s economic structure, can hardly be changed overnight, said Ding Yifan, deputy director of the World Development Research Institute at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

"For example, nuclear energy and aircraft are two pillars of the French economy, while exports of these products are limited," he said.

Martine Aubry, special representative of the French Foreign Affair Ministry to China, said France should develop its market share in China.

"China has major challenges in which France has huge potential, such as the ageing population and chronic diseases, urbanization and sustainable development, and healthy diets," Aubry said.

Jean-Marie Le Guen, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly, said tightening ties with China will facilitate the access of EU companies to the Chinese market.

"Growth in China is a chance not only for Asian countries, but for the EU as well. Our mutual responsibility is to ensure that everybody can benefit from it," he said.

Xi said at the news conference that the two countries would "actively promote a multipolar world and the democratization of international relations".

"China and France both want a multipolar world. We want there to be a balance. We refuse a world of powers, and of superpowers," Hollande said. "When China and France agree on a position, we can drive the world."

The two-day visit will also take Hollande to Shanghai.

Paris aims to have a candid dialogue with Beijing without letting its domestic politics influence its external strategy, Christian Lechervy, special foreign affairs adviser to the French president, told media prior to the visit.