Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, tipped to become China's president, hailed the strength of bilateral ties Tuesday as they looked to forge a counterbalance to the power of the US.

"We are in favour of Russia playing an important role in international and regional affairs," Xi, currently China's vice-president, said after the pair held their first talks. "We will surely support you.

"In our opinion, China and Russia should in the future facilitate the establishment of a multipolar world and democratisation of international relations," he added, speaking through a Russian translator.

The meeting came as Moscow and Beijing seek to put behind them the rivalries of the Cold War, a period when the two Communist powers eyed each other with suspicion, and position themselves as counterweights to US global dominance.

In both countries, the issue of political succession is expected to be one of the dominant aspects of the political agenda in the coming years.

Xi is being groomed to take over the Chinese presidency in 2012-13, while in Russia many observers believe Putin — still considered the country's top decision maker — may return to the Kremlin as president in 2012.

Putin called China the country's "strategic partner in the full sense of this word," offering Moscow's support for China's position on Taiwan.

"We have always supported China on the most sensitive issues, including the Taiwan problem," Putin said, who last visited China in October 2009 for talks with China's President Hu Jintao.

China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's nationalists fled in 1949 after losing the civil war, to be a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Russia and most of the world also view Taiwan as an integral part of China, but Taiwan trades with and receives support from numerous countries, notably the United States.

Both leaders praised growing Russian-Chinese business relations, with Xi calling on the two countries to resolve all outstanding economic issues.

Russia, which has been watching Beijing's growing economic and political might with a mixture of awe and uneasiness, wants to diversify its energy client base to Asia.

earlier related report

High-level Sino-US talks set for late May: China
Beijing (AFP) March 23, 2010 –

China said Tuesday that the next round of high-level strategic and economic talks with the United States would be held in Beijing in late May, amid strains between the countries on a number of issues.

"China and the US have preliminarily agreed to hold the second round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing in late May — the specific dates are still under discussion," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will represent the US side, while Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councillor Dai Bingguo will lead the Chinese delegation, Qin told reporters.

The talks will be the highest-level meeting between the two sides since ties broke down earlier this year, over US arms sales to Taiwan, Internet freedom, the value of the yuan and a visit by the Dalai Lama to the White House.

"The Strategic and Economic Dialogue mechanism is a platform to exchange views on major issues and promote cooperation in major fields," Qin said.

"The two countries will take this opportunity to exchange views on strategic, overall and long-lasting comprehensive issues of mutual interest," he said.

The first round of the dialogue was held in Washington in July last year.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Monday at a meeting in Beijing with top-level global business leaders that he was confident the two nations could work through the ongoing concerns.

"The dialogue in May will be very important. It's an opportunity to address the problems between China and the United States, and so we take it very seriously," Wen said.

"Although there are conflicts and problems in bilateral economic and trade ties, I'm sure that as long as we adhere to a spirit of mutual benefit and mutual accommodation on an equal footing, we can always find solutions."

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