Borders of China



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 30 km internal border with the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which was a British dependency before 1997, and a 3 km 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 22457 km, China has the longest land borders of any country.

Land border by polity
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.

China Rim
The region of all countries bordering China is sometimes referred to by scholars as the China Rim,  or simply as China's periphery (Chinese: 中国周边). The China Rim plays a significant role in competition between other countries and China, as is the case with America's China Containment Policy. Significant competition took place between America and China in the region after the middle of the 20th century. Currently, a greater level of scrutiny and competition are happening around the maritime portion of the rim (particularly Taiwan and Maritime Southeast Asia).

Relevant treaties
External link: 中俄边界谈判史

Since 1689, the relevant treaties on the boundary of China are: