"We are in favour of Russia playing an important role in international and regional affairs," Mr 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 interpreter.

Xi is being groomed to take over the Chinese presidency in 2012-13, while in Russia many observers believe Mr Putin may return to the Kremlin as president in 2012.

Mr 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," Mr Putin said, who last visited China in October 2009 for talks with China's President Hu Jintao.

AFP