China and Russia reached the final agreement Thursday over their
eastern border, putting an end to 40 years of negotiation.
During talks in Vladivostok, Chinese Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, exchanged
ratification documents by their parliaments agreeing to share
around fifty-fifty the last disputed land, a group of islands
totaling 375 square kilometers. China and Russia share a
4,300-kilometer-long border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Wednesday
concerning the ratification of the document. He said earlier that
"compromises" were necessary to find a solution acceptable to the
Russian Federation's interests.
"By solving the border issue through peaceful consultation,
Russia and China have set a good example for other countries in
settling similar disputes," said Urey Tavrovski, president of the
Moscow-based magazine, The Diplomat.
The two countries signed an additional agreement on the final
demarcation of their eastern border during President Putin's visit
to China last October. The document defined the two countries'
border on two sections. These sections account for less than two
percent of the border, but the issue had remained unsettled since
1991 when the two sides signed a border treaty on the eastern part
of the common border.
China's top legislature, the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC), ratified the additional agreement on April
27. The document was approved by Russia's State Duma on May 20. It
was passed by the Russian Federation Council five days later.
Former Russian Premier Yevgeny Primakov has said the peaceful
settlement of the border issue is a "great achievement." He said
that all disputes between the two neighbors regarding the border
issue are now "in history."
"It's a solution satisfactory to both sides," said Sheng
Shiliang, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the
State Council, China's Cabinet. "It's an epoch-making event for
China."
The borderline region boasts rich natural resources and easy
access to traffic. Experts say the final demarcation will be
conducive to its social and economic development and benefit the
local residents.
"Many local Chinese have established business contacts with the
Russians. Some have even become close friends," said Wu Zhifu, an
environmental worker in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
His hometown, Fuyuan, faces the Russian city of Khabarovsk across
the Heilongjiang River. "We're all happy at the peaceful solution
of the border issue."
Reform and development officials in Heilongjiang Province said
they are planning for the overall development of the borderline
areas, including the construction of ports, warehouses and other
infrastructure facilities.
(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2005)