The People's Republic of China (PRC) shares land borders with 14 countries (tied with Russia for the most in the world): North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. The land borders, in counterclockwise order from northeast to southwest, include the China–North Korea border, the eastern segment of the China–Russia border, the China–Mongolia border, the western segment of the China–Russia border (the most contested of the Sino-Indian border dispute), the China–Kazakhstan border, the China–Kyrgyzstan border, the China–Tajikistan border, the China–Afghanistan border, the China–Pakistan border, the western segment of the China–India border, the China–Nepal border, the central segment of the China–India border (Sikkim), the China–Bhutan border, the eastern segment of the China–India border, the China–Myanmar border, the China–Laos border, the China–Vietnam border. In addition, there is a 30abbr=NaNabbr= internal border with the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which was a British dependency before 1997, and a 3abbr=NaNabbr= internal border with Macau, a Portuguese territory until 1999.
To the west, PRC has maritime borders with North Korea, Japan and contested limits with Taiwan and other countries in the South China Sea, among other territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China.
At 22457km (13,954miles), China has the longest land borders of any country.
Below is a table of countries and territories who share a land border with China around its perimeter. In parentheses are their lengths in miles.[1]
| Country | data-sort-type="number" scope="col" | Length |
|---|---|---|
See also: Indo-Pacific and Asia-Pacific. The region of all countries bordering China is sometimes referred to by scholars as the China Rim,[2] [3] [4] or simply as China's periphery (Chinese: 中国周边).[5] The China Rim plays a significant role in competition between other countries and China, as is the case with America's China Containment Policy.[6] Significant competition took place between America and China in the region after the middle of the 20th century.[7] [8] [9] Currently, a greater level of scrutiny and competition are happening around the maritime portion of the rim (particularly Taiwan and Maritime Southeast Asia).[10]
External link: 中俄边界谈判史
Since 1689, the relevant treaties on the boundary of China are:
| contracting country | Gregorian date | Full name of treaty | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1689 | Treaty of Nerchinsk | ||
| year 1727 | |||
| 28 May 1858 | Aihui Treaty | ||
| 14 November 1860 | |||
| 7 October 1864 | Record of Sino-Russian Exploration and Demarcations in the Northwest | ||
| 1869, 1883 | Cobb Convention | ||
| 1870 | Uriasutay Convention | ||
| 1870, 1883 | Talbahatay Convention | ||
| 1870, 1882 | The Ili Boundary Convention | ||
| year 1882 | Northeast Kashgar Boundary Convention | ||
| year 1883 | Arakbek Estuary Boundary Convention | ||
| year 1884 | Northwest Kashgar Boundary Convention | ||
| 1890 | Sino-British Treaty of Tibet and India | ||
| 1909 | Gando Agreement | Terms of the Korea-Korea Boundary on the Tumen River | |
| 20 December 1911 | Manzhouli Boundary Convention | ||
| 4 September 1958 | Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea | ||
| 28 January 1960 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on the Boundary Question between the two countries | ||
| 14 May 1960 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on the Boundary Question between the two countries | ||
| 1 October 1960 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar | ||
| 4 January 1961 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar | ||
| 5 October 1961 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Nepal | ||
| 13 October 1961 | Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Myanmar concerning the Boundary between the two countries | ||
| 12 October 1962 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | ||
| 26 December 1962 | Sino-Korean Border Agreement, Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Mongolia | ||
| 2 March 1963 | China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Pakistan Concerning the Boundary Bordering Xinjiang of China and Various Areas under Pakistan's Effective Control for Defense | ||
| 25 March 1963 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Mongolia | ||
| 22 November 1963 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Afghanistan, or Sino-Afghan boundary treaty | ||
| 20 March 1964 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | ||
| 20 March 1964 | Sino-Korean Border Agreement, Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Concerning the China-Korea Boundary | ||
| 10 December 1982 | Signing of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (including the People's Republic of China) | ||
| 19 December 1984 | Sino-British Joint Declaration, or Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the Question of Hong Kong | ||
| 13 April 1987 | China-Portugal Joint Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Portuguese Republic on the Question of Macao | ||
| 16 May 1991 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Eastern Section of the Sino-Soviet Border | ||
| 24 October 1991 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic | ||
| 21 January 1992 | Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic | ||
| 25 February 1992 | Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone | ||
| 16 March 1992 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Eastern Section of the Sino-Soviet Border | ||
| 31 January 1993 | Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Concerning the Boundary between the two countries | ||
| 3 December 1993 | Treaty on the Boundary Regime between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic | ||
| 27 January 1994 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Mongolia on Determining the Boundary Points of the Three Countries | ||
| 8 April 1994 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on Determining the Tri-Junction | ||
| 11 October 1995 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on Determining the Tri-Junction | ||
| 12 August 1994 | Treaty on the Boundary Regime between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic | ||
| 26 April 1994 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the China-Kazakhstan Boundary | ||
| 3 September 1994 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation Concerning the Western Section of the China-Russia Boundary | ||
| 16 November 1994 | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (including the People's Republic of China) | ||
| 17 October 1995 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation concerning the Western Section of the China-Russia Boundary | ||
| 15 May 1996 | Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the baselines of the Territorial Sea of the People's Republic of China | ||
| 24 June 1996 | Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Mongolia Concerning the Description of the Western Boundary Point of the Three Countries | ||
| 24 June 1996 | Signed the Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Mongolia Concerning the Description of the Eastern Junction of the Tri-Border | ||
| 4 July 1996 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Kyrgyz Republic Concerning the Boundary Area between China and the Kyrgyz Republic | ||
| 26 August 1997 | Protocol supplementing to the Treaty on the Boundary Regime between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic | ||
| 24 September 1997 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the China-Kazakhstan Boundary | ||
| 4 July 1998 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning the China-Kazakhstan Boundary Area (1998) | ||
| 3 November 1998 | Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Demarcation Line of the Waters of the Three Countries along the Tumen River | ||
| 29 April 1999 | Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Approval of the "Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Demarcation Line of the Waters of the Three Countries along the Tumen River" | ||
| 5 May 1999 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning the Determination of the Boundary Points of the Tripartite State Border | ||
| 13 August 1999 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan Concerning the China-Tajikistan Boundary | ||
| 25 August 1999 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning the Boundary Points of the Three Countries | ||
| 26 August 1999 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Kyrgyz Republic Concerning the National Boundary between China and the Kyrgyz Republic | ||
| 30 December 1999 | Treaty on the Land Boundary Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam | ||
| 29 April 2000 | Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Ratifying the Treaty on the Land Boundary between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam | ||
| 5 July 2000 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic Concerning the Tri-Border Points | ||
| 25 December 2000 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf between the two countries in the Beibu Gulf | ||
| 17 May 2002 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan concerning the China-Tajikistan Boundary | ||
| 20 June 2002 | Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Description of the Boundary Points of the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation on the Tumen River | ||
| 29 March 2003 | Protocol between the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Description of the Boundary Points of the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation on the Tumen River | ||
| 25 June 2004 | Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on ratifying the "Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf in the Beibu Gulf" | ||
| 14 October 2004 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation concerning the Eastern Section of the National Boundary between China and Russia | ||
| 2 June 2005 | Supplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation concerning the Eastern Section of the National Boundary between China and Russia | ||
| 10 October 2006 | Treaty of the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic on Determining the Boundary Points of the Three Countries | ||
| 28 February 2007 | Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on ratifying the "Treaty of the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic on Determining the Boundary Points of the Three Countries", Identifying the Three Countries Decision of the Treaty on Border Crossings | ||
| 5 June 2012 | The Agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Determining the Boundary Points of the Three Countries | ||
| 10 September 2012 | Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the baselines of the territorial sea of the Diaoyu Dao and its Affiliated Islands | ||
| 14 December 2014 | Agreement between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Determining the Boundary Points of the Three Countries | ||
| July 2016 | China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea |