The country of the rising sun is not only the largest state neighboring the Russian Federation, but also the most important economic and political partner. The border between China and Russia is the longest of all these countries have.
Geographic data
The total length of the border between Russia and China exceeds four thousand kilometers. Most of it is occupied by the watershed lines. They pass along rivers flowing in both territories. And the land part, with an aggregate length of just over 650 km, is conditionally divided into two sections: to the right of Mongolia and to the left. The nature of the terrain on them is radically different.
In the west, the border runs along the high Altai. On the eastern side, it stretches a continuous series of border posts and outposts along the lowlands and plains around the great rivers; in Primorye, it again passes along the mountain ranges: Pogranichnoye, Black Mountains. To consolidate on the eastern edge near the Pacific Ocean in 1749 a fortress was built. In its place, the city of Blagoveshchensk later grew.
East frontier
For many reasons, the dividing line between two powerful powers in the current situation has many geographical and political non-connections, the origins of which are long gone. Currently, this line of the state border between Russia and China passes through the territories of:
- Amur Region - in the northwest.
- Khabarovsk Territory - in the northeast.
- Primorsky Krai - Far Eastern outskirts near the ocean.
- The Jewish Autonomous Okrug is a relatively small area in the center of the region.
The close relationship between the two countries began centuries ago. The process of advancement of Russian pioneers deep into the Asian part of the continent and further, before reaching the sea, was continuous, starting from the seventeenth century. Then the Russians settled in the vicinity of the Amur River, which is the most important water transport stream.
Endless disagreements over the ownership of this territory began almost immediately. The problem of establishing the exact land border between Russia and China has not been completely resolved to this day. For more than three centuries, about forty different documents on this subject have been adopted. At first, during the time of the Russian Empire, the differences were sluggish. China was actually controlled by England. The countries successively adopted Nerchinsky, Beijing and several other other agreements on the delimitation of disputed lands.
Conflicts of the 20th Century
Later, the Soviet government returned to this issue several times. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Japanese ruled in China. All territorial conflicts were resolved precisely with them in a peaceful or not very way. After the Second World War and the establishment of a communist regime in the Celestial Empire, the debate about the transfer of the border of Russia with China in any direction subsided for a short time . In the sixties, claims on the Amur lands by the Chinese side renewed. In general, from the second half of the last century to the present, in the PRC the propaganda of the annexation of the southeastern Russian territories is becoming more and more intensified.
Disputed Island Territories
The bloodiest clash occurred in March 1969 at the mouth of the river. Ussuri in the Amur Region. The subject of contention was Damansky Island, located on the Soviet side of the Russian border with China. Prior to this, over the course of several winter months, numerous provocative actions by citizens of the PRC on the unauthorized seizure of this island took place. All of them, following the strict command of the command, were decided by the Soviet troops without the use of weapons. However, in March, a real armed conflict started twice by the Chinese forces. Then 58 of our border guards were killed and about 100 more were injured.
Losses among the Chinese military were greater: up to three hundred people, the exact number is still unknown. Only in 2005 was the process of complete demarcation of the eastern part of the borders completed. However, the issue of the territorial affiliation of two neighboring islands, Tarabarov and Bolshoi Ussuri, has still not been resolved. He is regularly voiced at meetings of the leadership of both countries, various agreements and treaties are signed. But so far, the parties have not found a solution that would suit everyone. In fact, migration, resettlement and economic activity of an extremely large and active Chinese population in the Russian Federation is a long-standing fact.
Western frontier
The tiny stretch of the Russian-Chinese border less than 55 km long on the Ukok Plateau, the southern outskirts of the Altai Republic, is unique. The territories of four countries converge here: Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Once the map looked different: the lands of Mongolia belonged to the PRC, and the Kazakh steppes until recently were part of the USSR.
The political transformations that have taken place over the past decades have moved borders and forced to draw maps. Now that we have become neighbors, the section of the border between Russia and China is of great importance for establishing relations between all states. In addition, the current political, economic and military interests of our countries are finding more and more common ground.
The problems of establishing a transport and communication system are in the first place in the region. Now cargo transportation is mainly carried out in transit through Kazakhstan. Under development between the representatives of China and Russia is the creation of a direct corridor for the delivery of goods. On this gap, borders have already been agreed by countries and delimitation on maps has been carried out.
Transport links in border areas
Unlike the western part, in the east, transport links between the two countries have long been stable. TransSib multi-kilometer railway runs through several Russian regions. It crosses the land border of Russia with China in the Primorsky Territory, where it connects with the Chinese Eastern Railway.
This branch was laid jointly by Russia and China in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth, her fate corresponded many times, and, in the end, she went to the Chinese side. So, at this strategically important point, the geographical position of the demarcation marks between the two states has also undergone changes.