The 51-year-old, Argentina's head coach at the 2010 World Cup, was sacked by United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl last month but appears keen on a job in the Far East.
"I would like to coach in China," Maradona told a news conference in Beijing, the China Daily reported. "I wish to contribute to the development of China's youth football."
One of Maradona's coterie of agents had sounded out the Chinese earlier this year with a view of eventually landing the national team job, the newspaper said.
During his visit, Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 World Cup as a player and is regarded as one of the game's greatest ever, will holds talks with Chinese FA boss Wei Di.
Shanghai's rivals Guangzhou Evergrande appointed Italy's former World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi.
