China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange is seeking to acquire a large shopping center in Paris with the aim of diversifying its investment portfolio into the European high-end commercial real estate market, according to a French media report.

SAFE, which manages the country's $3.4 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, is among the potential bidders to buy the Beaugrenelle shopping mall situated in a prime location of the capital, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported.

The report didn't specify whether SAFE had designated any fund or investment company to make the bid. SAFE established a fully owned company, SAFE Investment Co Ltd, in Hong Kong in 1997. That entity has served as an investment arm of SAFE, helping manage its foreign-exchange reserves through overseas investment.