Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has singled out the development of friendly relations between the youths of China and Russia, cultural exchanges and interregional cooperation as key issues deserving special attention in future efforts to promote bilateral ties.

Xi, who is on a five-day official visit to Russia at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, on Sunday paid a visit to the Confucius Institute of Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, and called on youths of the two countries to make joint efforts to help push forward the friendly bilateral ties with their youthful passion and wisdom.

At the institute, which was founded in 2006, Xi watched an exhibition showing its achievements, attended a Chinese calligraphy lesson taken by Russian students, and inaugurated a bronze statue of Confucius.

Xi also paid a visit to the "Ocean" all Russia children's center, where hundreds of Chinese pupils and middle-school students who suffered from the 2008 devastating earthquake had attended a rehabilitation program.

The massive earthquake struck southwestern China's Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on May 12, 2008, leaving some 70,000 people dead and 18,000 others missing.

Xi recalled that the Russian government and people provided timely assistance to the quake victims and President Dmitry Medvedev later invited more than 1,500 Chinese pupils and middle-school students from the quake-hit areas to Russia for rehabilitation.

The Chinese vice president conveyed the sincere greetings and best wishes of these Chinese children to their Russian peers in the center, and, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the staff of the center.

Xi said Chinese and Russian youths are the builders and successors of the future undertaking of the Sino-Russia friendship.

He said the "Year of the Chinese Language" would open in Russia soon, hoping that Russian youths would actively take part in related activities, and learn the Chinese language, history and culture.

On the same day, Xi met with Valentina Matviyenko, mayor of St. Petersburg at the Smolny Palace. He said the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation is undergoing steady development and has reached an unprecedented high level marked by intense high-level exchanges and strengthened political trust.

Both countries have also expanded their channels of communication and their practical cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, energy and technology has yielded fruitful results, the vice president said.

He said that China and Russia have been staunch supporters to each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and have cooperated well on major international and regional affairs.

Both sides have particularly expanded cultural exchanges, Xi added, saying the Year of the Russian Language in China ended with encouraging results, and the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia is to open shortly.

Being each other's largest neighbor, China and Russia have great advantages in carrying out cooperation at regional levels, which has grown both in size and depth, the vice president said.

Last year, China became the biggest trading partner for St. Petersburg, which is a friendly city of Shanghai, Xi said. Over the years, the two cities have sought cooperation in economy, finance and technology.

Xi hoped the upcoming World Expo in Shanghai would create more opportunities for cooperation between the two cities.

Matviyenko said the growing Sino-Russian friendship has boosted the development of her city.

She called Xi's visit a historic one which will further the collaboration between her city and China.

Matviyenko also said that in recent years, St. Petersburg has been developing close relations with such Chinese cities as Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao, and she hoped both sides will carry out more cooperation in such fields as tourism and infrastructure construction.

The Chinese vice president also visited an office in the Smolny Palace where Vladimir Lenin led the October Revolution in 1917.

On Saturday, the first day of Xi's stay in Russia, Xi met with Governor of Russia's Primorsky Territory Sergey Mikhaylovich Darkin in Vladivostok, and pledged to further interregional cooperation.

Later in the day, China and Russia signed 15 cooperation documents totalling 1.6 billion U. S. dollars covering economic, technological, energy and infrastructure cooperation.

Xi's current visit to Russia is also aimed at sharing experience with Russian leaders in running their respective countries and enhancing party-to-party cooperation, as the Chinese vice president is also to attend the second meeting of the dialogue mechanism between the two ruling parties -- the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the United Russia (UR).

During his stay, Xi will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Putin, who is also chairman of the ruling United Russia party, and State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov to discuss bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of common concern.

Xi is also expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia.

Russia is the first leg of Xi's four-nation Europe tour, which will also take him to Belarus, Finland and Sweden.