China and France must respect each other’s core interests, particularly the one-China principle, and strengthen a strategic partnership “free from external interference”, top diplomat Wang Yi said during talks with a senior adviser to the French president on Friday.

Wang, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, held talks in Beijing with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wang said the foundation of Paris-Beijing ties lay in “solid political mutual trust”. He expressed hope that France would “refrain from any form of official interaction with the Taiwan authorities and send no wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces”, the foreign ministry statement said.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States and France, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

The meeting marked the second exchange between Wang and Bonne in two months, following a phone conversation in late March.

Wang said China had long viewed Europe as an important pole in a multipolar world and supported European integration and the growth of the European Union.