France announced a reduction in the number of flights by Chinese airlines to Paris to one flight per week in response to a similar move by Beijing.

"From July 13, Chinese airlines will only be allowed one flight a week," the French embassy in Beijing announced on its website.

China's state aviation authority (CAAC) has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The French Embassy said three Chinese airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, are allowed to make one flight a week from Chinese cities to Paris.

Under a bilateral agreement on June 12, Air France was also allowed by Beijing to conduct three flights to China per week, but in reality, Chinese officials allowed only one flight.

The Chinese embassy in France said in a social media post that the French government was offering to land all three Air France weekly flights to Shanghai.

Beijing said it was baffled by France's decision to cut Chinese flights when Shanghai agreed to take over the second Air France flight.

"We hope France will reconsider the relevant decisions when considering Sino-French relations, returning to negotiations and consultations to reasonably resolve issues related to flights between the two countries,"