China on Wednesday praised Mikhail Gorbachev for his part in improving ties between Beijing and Moscow in the 1980s and 1990s, following the death of the Soviet Union's last leader.

"Mikhail Gorbachev made positive contributions to the normalisation of Sino-Soviet relations," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference, adding: "We mourn his death and express our condolences to his family."

Gorbachev led the Soviet Union during a period of thawing relations between Beijing and Moscow, after decades of tensions over ideological differences and competing geopolitical interests.

China's Communist leadership watched Gorbachev's reforms of the Soviet Union in 1980s with caution.

It ultimately violently quashed mass protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square -- which coincided with a visit by Gorbachev to the capital.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed to the collapse of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev's watch as a cautionary tale.

Xi reportedly blamed the fall of the Soviet Union on a lack of "real men" willing to defend the system, according to leaked comments published by Chinese commentator Gao Yu in 2013.

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