* Wheat buoyed by China interest

* Corn rises after export sales report well above expectations

* Soybeans mixed in narrow trading

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity, U.S. trading comments; new byline, new bullets and headline, changes dateline, previous PARIS/SINGAPORE)

CHICAGO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn futures climbed more than 1% on Thursday as traders covered more short positions following a slump to multi-year lows and as weekly export sales topped forecasts and included sizable purchases by major importer China.

Soybeans were mixed in range-bound trading after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported fresh private sales to China.

The most- active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.6% at $5.95-1/4 a bushel by 1737 GMT, reaching a three-week high during trading.

Talk of Chinese interest in U.S. wheat may be supporting the market, said Joe Vaclavik, president of Standard Grain.

China bought a net 197,310 metric tons of U.S. wheat in the week ended Nov. 23, its largest purchases in six weeks, the USDA said Thursday.

"The second reason would be that there was a story that circulated two days ago about a potential Russian export ban," he said. "That may be enough in itself to induce some short covering."

Corn was up 1.6% at $4.83-1/2 a bushel, as the USDA reported export sales last week at 1,927,800 metric tons, well above a range of trade expectations for 600,000 to 1,200,000 tons.

The USDA also reported U.S. soybean export sales of last week at 1,895,300 metric tons, above expectations for 850,000 to 1,500,000 tons.

Soybeans also found some support from the USDA confirming private sales of 134,000 metric tons for delivery to China in the 2023/24 marketing year that began Sept. 1.

The most-active soybean contract on the CBOT was up 0.1% at $13.47-3/4 a bushel in narrow trading.

In Brazil, dry and hot conditions this week are expected to increase stress on soybean crops in the northern half of the country, though weather forecasts pointed to easing heat and widespread rainfall in the coming two weeks.

"The forecast is kind of murky," Vaclavik said.

(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Alison Williams)