President Francois Hollande of France landed in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing on Monday to commence a two-day state visit aimed at strengthening business ties and cementing a joint commitment with Chinese leaders to combat climate change ahead of the Paris Climate Summit later this month.

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Many experts believe Hollande would announce an agreement with President Xi Jinping to reduce carbon emissions. The French leader, who is in China for only his second state visit as president, told the press after arriving in Chongqing that he is hoping to reach "a global and ambitious agreement that will allow [global] warming to be limited to two degrees."

China is the largest producer of carbon emissions in the world - closely followed by the United States. Chinese authorities have taken several steps to curb the high rate of carbon emissions in the country, including imposing fines on the highest polluters and promoting the use of renewable energy sources as opposed to coal burning. In China's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), which was submitted to the United Nations (UN) this year, the country has pledged to work towards peaking its carbon emissions by 2030. Also, in September, during President Xi's visit to the U.S., the Chinese leader made a historic commitment to collaborate in the fight against climate change. He also announced a plan to introduce a national cap-and-trade system in 2017.

Despite these steps, some critics have questioned the commitment of China to prioritize tackling climate change over economic expansion. One issue that continues to divide world leaders is what is the appropriate "compliance mechanism" to enforce the agreements at the Paris Climate Summit. China has protested against attempts to make climate agreements "legally binding" in the past. Many analysts expect the country to maintain the same stance at the upcoming summit.

Hollande has warned that it would be too late to save the environment if no concrete agreement is reached at the Paris Climate Summit. He explained that China has a vital role to play in influencing developing countries to support global environmental protection efforts.

"If China has a strong engagement it is true that it will be closely observed by the other developing countries...especially the big developing countries like India, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil as well as many other countries from Asia and Africa who are looking at what China is going to do. So, it's true that China can have a knock on effect on other countries and at some point can have a big impact, a big effect and it can add weight in Paris during COP21," he explained.

Hollande arrived in China with a large business delegation. He is expected to fly to Beijing later, where he will be officially welcomed by President Xi. The French is also scheduled to meeting with Premier Li Keqiang and speak at a China-France business forum on Tuesday before leaving for Seoul. During his two-day visit to South Korea, Holland is expected to discuss several issues with President Park Geun-hye including strengthening bilateral ties and dealing with North Korea.

TagsParis climate summit, President Francois Hollande Visits China, china carbon emissions, China-France, Paris Climate Summit 2015