China–Tajikistan border
A high border across the Pamirs, the “roof of the world,” drawn along the water divides by Britain and Russia in 1895 without China’s agreement. China never accepted it, and in 2011 Tajikistan settled the dispute by ceding about 1,100 square kilometres of remote mountain land, roughly one percent of its territory.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
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A line China never accepted
The Pamirs, often called the roof of the world, are a knot of high ranges around a surprisingly flat plateau. Chinese forces had occupied the region but left under Afghan pressure in 1892. In 1895 Britain and Russia created the Wakhan corridor as a buffer and drew the Russian–Chinese line southward along the main water divides, apparently without consulting China. No treaty ever defined the line south of the Kizil Jik Dawan pass, and as of 1978 China had never accepted it.[1]
The 2011 deal
On 12 January 2011 Tajikistan’s lower house ratified an agreement with China demarcating the border, ending a dispute of some 130 years. Tajikistan ceded 1,142 square kilometres of remote mountain land. Officials called it a diplomatic victory, saying China had first demanded 28,500 square kilometres, and the foreign minister denied Beijing had coerced Dushanbe. Critics suggested, without evidence, that the land held valuable minerals, which the minister denied.[2]
“At first China insisted on the transfer of 28,500 square kilometers and in the end we ceded 1,100.”[2]
Timeline
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 64: China – U.S.S.R. Boundary (revised) · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 13 February 1978
- [2]Tajikistan: China’s Advance Causing Increasing Unease among Tajiks · Eurasianet · 14 February 2011
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.