Read more in Daily Specials: Hollande continues economic diplomacy during China visit

French President Francois Hollande Thursday kicked off his first visit to China since coming into office last year, becoming the first major Western head of state to be received by China's new generation of leaders.

Hollande is likely to use the trip, which comes amid economic woes at home and the lingering European debt crisis, to expand exports from Paris to Beijing and cement their economic links with the world's second largest economy.

Analysts also called on France to end its high-tech exports ban to China, as this could both address France's concern over trade deficits and contribute to the healthy development of their strategic partnership in the long run.

During his two-day state visit to China, Hollande will hold separate talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang for discussions of regional and international issues of joint concern before going to Shanghai, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Wednesday.

Trade and the economy will still be high on the agenda during Hollande's trip as he is accompanied by a large delegation including his ministers of trade, finance, and agriculture as well as a number of French entrepreneurs.

"The unsolved eurozone crisis has made it difficult for Hollande to fulfill his pledge to voters to get France's economy back in shape in two years; and turning to China would be a good solution," said Shen Jiru, a researcher with the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

"The two sides are expected to sign a series of agreements on their traditional areas of cooperation, including nuclear power plant construction and Chinese purchases of Airbus planes," Sheng told the Global Times.

French carmaker Renault meanwhile hopes to progress negotiations on a proposed automobile factory in Hubei Province's capital of Wuhan which would produce 150,000 vehicles per year, AFP reported.

But while bilateral trade has been growing, France has complained of its trade imbalance with China. Some have pointed fingers at the Chinese currency, claiming it is undervalued.

"China has more or less got what it wants from the bilateral relationship, but France has so far struggled to reap the rewards of Chinese growth," Jonathan Holslag, an expert on Sino-European relations at the Free University of Brussels, told AFP.

But Shen said that a trade surplus is not what China desires in its trade with France.

"France leads the world in many high-tech areas and if they could manage to end their ban on high-tech exports to China, the trade imbalance would definitely be reversed," he noted. "This would be a win-win situation as French companies could also boost their investment in China."

That said, analysts stressed that such challenges would not have a huge bearing on the development of the China-France strategic partnership, due to their larger number of overlapping interests.

"China and France, two UN Security members, are known for their principle of independent foreign policy. Their successful cooperation is crucial to cope with major international challenges and the building of a multi-polar world," Sheng said.

"France is a leading member of the EU, its relationship with China is also very important for China-EU ties in the future," he noted.

France was the first Western country that established diplomatic ties with China in 1964 and Paris has long placed relations with Beijing as a priority of its diplomatic policy.

Such a friendship is likely to be cemented under Hollande, who appointed Paul Jean-Ortiz, a career diplomat who speaks Mandarin, as his diplomatic advisor.

Also, the first foreign ambassador Hollande met after he was elected in 2012 was Kong Quan, China's ambassador to France.

Agencies contributed to this story