As the incoming chairman of the G20 group of economic powers, Sarkozy knows that without Chinese support his goal of reforming the world financial system and heading off the threat of trade and currency wars will go nowhere.

And as the leader of a struggling European economy, with high unemployment and anaemic growth, Sarkozy is desperate to get his hands on billions of euros in Chinese deals to buy France's high-tech industrial products.

Meanwhile, for its part, China wants closer ties with France to strengthen its hand in dealings with the European Union and to act as a counterbalance to its often confrontational relations with the United States.

As the state visit went into its second day, Sarkozy's bet appeared to have paid off, with Hu publicly endorsing French leadership in the G20 and China signing trade deals with French firms worth more than 20 billion dollars.

But the spectacle has underlined the extent to which, in the words of foreign policy analyst Sylvie Matelly, China has "become the completely essential country if you want international agreement in any domain."

China is growing into its new role as a diplomatic player and, as Francois Godement of the European Council on Foreign Relations notes, learning to play other world powers "like a piano".

Backed by its economic muscle and effective veto on global financial governance issues, China is learning to play Europe off against the United States and EU capitals off against each other, he said.

Sarkozy takes on the rotating presidency of the G20 after next week's summit in South Korea, and the success or otherwise of his economic diplomacy over the next 12 months depends on China being prepared to make concessions.

Matelly, director of research at France's Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), says China "holds all the cards" in the G20's search for a sustainable return to global economic growth.

Western powers want Beijing to allow the yuan to strengthen, reduce its dependence on exports and boost domestic demand -- all means towards reducing the vast trade imbalances between exporting and importing economy.

Can Sarkozy persuade Hu to follow through. "It's not clear that he'll succeed," admits Matelly.

Valerie Niquet, China specialist at the Foundation for Strategic Research, thinks that China will follow through on the warm words of Hu's toast to Sarkozy at the end of the state dinner that followed his arrival.

But this public support for the French agenda won't go much beyond words, and China's own economic priorities will dominate its response, she warns.

Nevertheless, Fabienne Clerot of IRIS thinks that the lengthy talks that Hu will conduct with Sarkozy over the three days do show that "both countries feel they need each other."

China, she argues, wants the G20 to recognise its weightier role in international affairs, and sees France as a gateway into Europe's good offices -- a closer ally than Germany, its rival as an export power.

Godement says China's goal is to soften European demands for a currency correction and its tactic is to play the individual capitals of Europe, many of which have eyes on Chinese investment, against the European Union as a whole.

"France and Europe are going in to fight without enough ammunition, in particular compared to the United States. The Europeans are the poor relations, trapped between the hammer of the dollar and the anvil of the yuan," he said.

Meanwhile, he said, China is happy to spend its billions on European technology, taking a stake in the European financial system and getting its hands on sources of raw materials, like France's uranium mines in Niger.

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