The China–Laos border is the international boundary between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, which runs for 505 km from the tripoint with

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

in the west to the tripoint with Vietnam in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Myanmar on the Mekong river, proceeding southwards via a series of irregular overland lines. The border then turns sharply eastward and continues overland, before turning sharply northward, continuing in that direction for some distance, before again turning eastward and terminating at the Vietnamese tripoint at the

Shiceng Dashan Shiceng Dashan ()( vi, Khoan La San) is a mountain at the junction of the borders of Laos, China and Vietnam. According to the news report, the three countries have a border dispute in which a pending agreement is on the table. There is a monoli ...

peak. The border on both sides is predominantly inhabited by minority people groups. Topographically it is mountainous and forested, with some limited agriculture. On the Laotian side the border lie the provinces of Luang Namtha,

Oudomxai Oudomxay (alternates: Oudômxai or Moung Xai; lo, ອຸດົມໄຊ) is a province of Laos, located in the northwest of the country. Its capital is Muang Xai. It covers an area of . It borders China to the north, Phongsali province to the ...

and Phongsali, whilst the entirety of China's side belongs to the province of Yunnan.

History

The border area was historically remote from the centres of both Chinese and Lao power. From the 1860s France began establishing a presence in the region, initially in modern Cambodia and Vietnam, and the colony of French Indochina was created in 1887. France and China had already determined the border between Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and China in 1887 following the

Sino-French War The Sino-French War (, french: Guerre franco-chinoise, vi, Chiến tranh Pháp-Thanh), also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese arm ...

. Laos was then added to the colony in 1893 following the Franco-Siamese War, and a border agreement delimiting the China-Laos boundary at its current position was signed on 20 June 1895. It was later demarcated on the ground with a series of pillars.

obtained a partial independence from France in 1949, around the time when Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China after defeating Chiang Kai Shek's nationalist government in the Chinese Civil War. Consequently, China's adaptation of

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

principles in the form of Maoism influenced Laotian politics, fuelling demands for total independence from France, which was granted in 1953. The boundary then became one between two sovereign independent states. The border was re-surveyed and demarcated in April 1992.

Border crossings

There are two border crossings. The main one is located at Mohan-

Boten Boten is a town in Laos in Luang Namtha Province. Boten is on the China–Laos border. It is opposite the Chinese town Mohan. While Boten is part of Laos, most of its inhabitants speak Mandarin Chinese as their native language. The main currenc ...

. A second crossing is at Lantouy further northeast (only for Chinese and Laotian citizens). There is no railway crossing the border, but the Vientiane–Boten railway and the Yuxi–Mohan railway connect between

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

with Vientiane opened on 3 December 2021.

Historical maps

Historical maps of the border from west to east in the International Map of the World, Operational Navigation Chart and Tactical Pilotage Chart, late 20th century: File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nf-47-7th-ed.jpg, File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nf-48-7th-ed.jpg, File:Operational Navigation Chart J-10, 10th edition.jpg, File:Operational Navigation Chart J-11, 12th edition.jpg, File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 j-10b.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Laos border Borders of China Borders of Laos International borders

Description

History

Border crossings

Historical maps

See also

References