Moscow, May 28: Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao today reaffirmed his call for a "multipolar world" and promised to carry on his predecessor's course of developing a strategic partnership with Russia. "The trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible and dominant," Hu said in a speech at the Mgimo, a Moscow university specializing in international relations.

A joint call for a "multipolar world," the term Russia and China used to describe their shared ambition to offset US global domination, has cemented the friendship between the two former rivals.

Without naming the United States, Hu assailed unilateralism in world affairs and condemned the use of force in settling disputes. "Peace can't be achieved through using force," he said.

Yesterday, Hu and Putin issued a joint declaration urging North Korea to relinquish its nuclear ambitions and keep the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, but also voiced support for the North's demand for security guarantees and warned against using force to resolve the crisis.

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko on Wednesday reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to help mediate the North Korean nuclear stalemate, saying that both Russia and the United States want to avoid proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region.

Hu chose Russia for his first trip abroad after replacing Jiang Zemin as President in March. Hu hailed a friendship treaty which Jiang signed with Putin in 2001, saying it has created "political guarantees for the long-term and steady development of Chinese-Russian relations."

Bureau Report