Frenchman Will Return to China Prized Bronze Artifacts Looted in 19th Century A bronze rabbit head is one of two objects to be given back to China. It was looted from the Summer Palace near Beijing during the Second Opium War. BEIJING - One of France's wealthiest businessmen has agreed to return to China two bronze animal heads that were looted from the imperial Summer Palace near Beijing by invading French and British troops in the 19th century. To China, the destruction and looting of the palace epitomizes the humiliation it suffered at the hands of imperial Western powers during the Second Opium War. The offer to return the heads came from François-Henri Pinault, one of 60 high-powered Frenchmen who are accompanying the French president, François Hollande, this week on his first visit to China. Mr. Hollande is seeking to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations with China, and also brought eight cabinet ministers. Mr. Hollande has received a warm welcome since landing in Beijing on Thursday. The previous French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, angered Chinese leaders after he met with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in late 2008, months after a widespread Tibetan uprising in western China. The bronzes emerged as a point of contention between China and France in 2009, when Christie's auction house handled the sale of the French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's vast art collection after his death. Mr. Pinault is the chief executive officer of Kering, the company that owns Christie's. After China failed to block the sale legally, a Chinese businessman made successful bids totaling about $40 million for the heads, then refused to pay, citing national pride. According to Mr. Pinault's company, Mr. Pinault acquired them himself and decided to return them to China, which just this month decided to allow Christie's to become the first international auction house to operate independently on the mainland. Mr. Pinault told Chinese officials that the heads would be returned by the second half of this year. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage in China said Mr. Pinault's offer was "an expression of friendship toward the Chinese people," according to a state news report. "The Chinese side offers its high praise for this action and considers that it conforms with the spirit of relevant international cultural heritage protection treaties," the government agency said. The two bronzes, a rat head and a rabbit head, were among 12 animal heads in a central fountain clock at the palace. They spewed water to tell time. All disappeared after the palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan and used by rulers of the Qing Dynasty, was destroyed by Western troops in 1860. So iconic are the animal heads that Ai Weiwei, the rebel artist, made a sculpture with versions of all 12. Typical of Mr. Ai, the sculpture was constructed with a sense of irony. It was first displayed in May 2011 at the Pulitzer Fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, while Mr. Ai was being illegally detained in Beijing by security forces, and it quickly came to symbolize the constant conflict in China over issues of free speech. According to Mr. Pinault's company, Mr. Pinault acquired the bronzes himself and decided to return them to China, which just this month decided to allow Christie's to become the first international auction house to operate independently on the mainland. The China Poly Group, a state-owned enterprise with ties to the People's Liberation Army that has a museum and theater in central Beijing, has acquired several of the animal heads, but the owners and locations of the rest remain unknown. Mr. Pinault, 50, is the son of Kering's founder, François Pinault, an art collector. The gift was from the Pinault family. The company has significant stakes in China, where some of its fashion brands, like Gucci, are doing very well. France has a significant trade deficit with China and wants more Chinese investment, and France is a favorite tourist destination for the rising Chinese middle and upper classes. The French president is under some pressure at home to raise human rights issues with the new Communist Party leadership. Mr. Hollande doled out his criticisms more freely in the past, when he was simply the leader of the Socialist Party. In addition to promoting commerce, Mr. Hollande wants to reassure the Chinese that his government will protect the security of Chinese tourists in France, who have suffered attacks, and intends to discuss making it easier for Chinese to obtain visas, which are difficult to get even if they want to study or invest in France. Mr. Sarkozy had tendentious relations with Beijing after the meeting with the Dalai Lama in late 2008 and after his criticism of a crackdown in Tibet earlier that year. Relations deteriorated that year when Western and Tibetan demonstrators protesting the crackdown and abuses of human rights in China interrupted the Olympic torch relay when it passed through Paris on the way to Beijing. Edward Wong reported from Beijing, and Steven Erlanger from Paris.