Hollande’s visit to deepen Sino-French ties

There's a lot of room for boosting Sino-French economic ties. Right now, France only accounts for about 1.3 percent of China's foreign trade compared with 5 percent for Germany.

Normal, uncharismatic, and not well known outside his own country, Francois Hollande eventually clinched the French presidential election by his socialist views during a financial abyss. His immediate challenge was to move a country plagued by deficits and low labor productivity forward.

Fresh data show the French economy shrank 3-tenths of a percent in the last quarter of 2012, erasing all gains in the previous months and bringing the whole year's growth to a plateau. Recent manufacturing data from the country are quite gloomy as well. Analysts are concerned 2013 might be another year of economic stagnation for the euro zone's second largest economy.

Sylvie Bermann, French ambassador to China, says growing trade between the two nations have prompted France to turn eastward.

France is currently China's fourth largest trading partner in the European Union, while China is France's number two exporting destination. However, a nagging trade imbalance between the two is causing a bit of friction. Hollande noted the significance of the Sino-French relationship upon his election victory and has sent various officials to China, forging deeper economic ties with its largest trading partner in Asia.

Accompanying Holland on his trip this time is a delegation of 50 top business leaders. All of whom are interested in deepening cooperation with Chinese partners in the aerospace, nuclear energy, food processing and agriculture spaces.

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-French diplomatic ties. Hollande's visit may turn a half-century-old book into a new page.