BEIJING, March 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot will meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other officials on Thursday for talks on touchy topics like the war in Ukraine and Beijing's trade tensions with Europe.

China has said it hopes this week's visit by the French foreign minister would see the countries deepen cooperation in a world facing "turbulence and transformation".

It has also said the two sides will discuss ways to "jointly resist unilateralism and the resurgence of the law of the jungle" -- a veiled reference to US President Donald Trump, whose return to the White House in January has rocked the international order.

France and China have sought to strengthen ties in recent years, but Paris has also pressed Beijing on its ties with Moscow, which have strengthened since the invasion of Ukraine.

Paris expects the talks will focus on a resolution to that conflict, which Beijing has never condemned, as well as the Middle East and trade tensions between China and the European Union.

Barrot will kick off the day with a visit to the Beijing Language and Culture University, before meeting top Chinese diplomat Wang after 10:30 am (0230 GMT) and a meeting with an as-yet-unnamed senior official in the afternoon.

He will then head to economic powerhouse Shanghai, where he will on Friday inaugurate a hydrogen production plant built by the Air Liquide group and participate in a Franco-Chinese business forum.