French President Emmanuel Macron begins his multi-day state visit to the People's Republic of China on Wednesday.

The French leader not only wants to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, but will also meet Chinese state and party leaders on Thursday.

China's Foreign Office said President Xi Jinping wants to discuss Sino-French relations and important international issues with Macron, without giving further details.

The Élysée Palace said France wants to urge China to pursue a more balanced trade policy. Europeans regularly criticize China for unfairly competing with European products through state subsidies for electric cars, steel and solar panels.

Regarding the struggle to end the war in Ukraine, Macron will also ask China to use its influence on Russia to bring about a ceasefire.

On Friday, Macron plans to visit a dam in Chengdu in Sichuan province before returning to France.

This is Macron's fourth visit to China and follows Xi Jinping's trip to Europe last year, during which he stopped in France.

Beijing says that France is China's third most important trading partner in the EU.