The China–Myanmar border is the international border between the territory of the People's Republic of China and Myanmar (formerly ''Burma''). The border is 2,129 km (1,323 mi) in length and runs from the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with India in the north to the tripoint with Laos in the south.

Description

The border begins in the north at the tripoint with India just north of the Diphu Pass and then runs briefly north-east, across the Nanmi Pass and

Hkakabo Razi Hkakabo Razi (, ; ) is believed to be Myanmar's highest mountain. The -tall mountain is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia as well. It is located in the northern Myanmar state of Kachin State, Kachin in an outlying subrange of the Greater Him ...

(5,881 m), the highest mountain in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It then turns to the south-east, running broadly south and then south-west across the Hengduan and

Gaoligong Mountains The Gaoligong Mountains () are a mountainous sub-range of the southern Hengduan Mountain Range, located in the western Yunnan highlands and straddling the border of southwestern China and northern Myanmar (Burma). It's described as a "global biod ...

via a series of irregular lines. In the vicinity of

Ruili Ruili ( zh, s=瑞丽 , t=瑞麗 , p=Ruìlì; ; ; ; ), called Möng Mao in Tai, is a county-level city of Dehong Prefecture, in the west of Yunnan province, China. It is a major border crossing between China and Myanmar, with the town of Muse loc ...

the border briefly utilises parts of the

Taping Elastic therapeutic tape, also called kinesiology tape or kinesiology therapeutic tape, Kinesio tape, k-tape, or KT is an elastic cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is purported to ease pain and disability from athletic injuries and a v ...

and Nanwan rivers, before turning south-east to join the Shweli River, which it utilises for a period towards the north-east. The border then continues through mountainous terrain in a broadly (though often convoluted) south-eastwards direction, occasionally utilising rivers (such as the Nanding and Nam Hka) for short stretches, before following the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

to the tripoint with Laos.

History

The boundary area is inhabited by non-Han and non-Burmese peoples, and has been traditionally kept as a buffer region between the various Chinese and Burmese empires. During the 19th century the British, based in India, began occupying Myanmar (then referred to as Burma), gradually incorporating it into

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Their advance close to lands traditionally claimed by China pushed the two sides into negotiating a boundary treaty in 1894, which covered the southern half of the boundary as far north as the vicinity of

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; Jingpho language, Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ; , ''Sèna'') is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese language, Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina i ...

, exclusive of the

Wa States The Wa States was the name formerly given to the Wa Land, the natural region, natural and historical region inhabited mainly by the Wa people, an ethnic group speaking an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language. The region is loca ...

. Sections of this border were demarcated and marked on the ground from 1897 to 1900. In 1941, a border running through the Wa States area was agreed upon following on-the-ground surveys conducted in the 1930s, though no agreement on the northern stretch was reached, with China claiming much of what is now northern Myanmar. Meanwhile, in 1937, Burma was separated from India and became a separate colony, gaining full independence in 1948. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Lashio, Burma, in the south and Kunming, China, the capital of Yunnan province in the north. It was built in 1937–1938 while Burm ...

was constructed across the border as an Allied supply line for the Chinese forces fighting Japan. In 1941, following Japan's

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

of Burma, parts of Burma were ceded to Siam as the

Saharat Thai Doem ''Saharat Thai Doem'' () was an administrative division of Thailand. It encompassed parts of the Shan States of British Burma annexed by the Thai government after the Japanese conquest of Burma. By means of this annexation, Axis powers, Axis-a ...

territory, thereby giving border with Thailand. These areas were returned to Burma in 1946 following Japan's defeat.

1960 border treaty

Discussions between Burma and China over the border began in 1954, with China keen to control the area more effectively as it was being used as a base by

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

troops. On 28 January 1960, a treaty was signed which delimited most of the border, which was later completed with a full delimitation treaty signed on 1 October 1960, with both sides ceding small areas along the border, such as areas around

Kachin Hills The Kachin Hills are a heavily forested group of highlands in the extreme northeastern area of the Kachin State of Burma. They consist of a series of ranges running mostly in a N/S direction, including the Kumon Bum subrange of which the highest p ...

/ Jiangxinpo and

, which China recognized most of the disputed territory belonging to Burma, while Burma relinquishing small amount of that disputed territory, namely Hpimaw (Pianma) () and adjacent Gawlam (Gulang) () and Kangfang () to PRC. They also agreed that Namwan area (which was in ''"perpetual lease"'' from China to Burma) would become part of Burma legally, in exchange for Burma ceding Panghung/Banhong and Panglao/Banlao to China. The two sides then demarcated the border on the ground in the following year. The border ran through the Wa region, although it had little practical effect on the

Wa people The Wa people ( Wa: Vāx; , ; ; ''Wáa'') are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part of Shan State and the eastern part of Kachin State, near and along Myanmar's border with China, as well as ...

. Since finalizing the border, relations between the two states have remained largely cordial, though the border region has at times been volatile owing to the ongoing insurgencies in Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states. In recent years several towns along the border, such as Mong La,

and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, have become centres of gambling, prostitution and drug smuggling.Asia Times Online
Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country
Michael Black and Roland Fields, Aug 26, 2006 The border is porous as a militarized strict border control was controversial prior to 2020. Burmese migrant workers are included within the economy of Chinese border cities in

Yunnan Province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

through a "compromise-oriented border control." China implemented flexible migration for Burmese workers while implementing surveillance, policing and other enforcement tactics in border cities instead of only at the border. Burmese migrants in Chinese border cities live and work within China but endure economic exploitation, spatial confinement and social discrimination. Additionally, there is a huge illegal immigrant problem due to the

Myanmar civil war Myanmar has been embroiled in armed conflict since 1948, when the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with ethnic armed organisations fighting Myanmar's arm ...

Border crossings

Shan State: *Guanlei River Port (Mengla County,

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

) *Menglong crossing (Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna) – NDAA control on Burmese side * Mong La (NDAA control) – Daluo (Menghai County, Xishuangbanna) *Mangxin crossing (Menglian County, Pu'er Prefecture) – NDAA control on Burmese side * Pangkham (controlled by

Wa State Wa State is a '' de facto'' independent state and self-governing region in Myanmar that has its own political system, administrative divisions and army.29 December 2004佤帮双雄, Phoenix TV. While the Wa State government recognises Myanm ...

) – Meng'a ( Menglian County, Pu'er) *Natuoba (Wa State) – Mengka crossing (Ximeng County, Pu'er) *Shawba (Wa State) – Yonghe crossing ( Mengdong, Cangyuan County, Lincang Prefecture) * Namtit (Wa State) – Mangka (Cangyuan, Lincang) * Chinshwehaw – Qingshuihe ( Gengma County, Lincang) * Laukkai (

Kokang Kokang (; ) is a region in Myanmar. It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai. K ...

Region) – Nansan (Zhenkang County, Lincang), incl. Yan Lon Kyaing passage * Mong Ko – Manghai (Mangshi County, Dehong Prefecture) * Pang Hseng (Kyukok) – Wanding (Ruili County, Dehong) *Kyin San Kyawt (Jinsanjiao) – Wanding Mangman *

–

(including Nantaw, Mang Wein, and Sin Phyu passages) * Manhero – Yinjing (open border) * Namhkam – Nongdao *Leiyun passage (Nongdao) Kachin State: * Lweje – Zhangfeng (Longchuan County, Dehong) *Mai Ja Yang crossing (controlled by

KIO KIO (KDE Input/Output) is a system library incorporated into KDE Frameworks and KDE Software Compilation 4. It provides access to files, web sites and other resources through a single consistent API. Applications, such as Konqueror and Dolph ...

) * Laiza (controlled by KIO) – Nabang (Yingjiang County, Dehong) * Kanpaikti ( NDA-K border force joint control) – Houqiao (Tengchong County, Baoshan Prefecture) * Pang War ( NDA-K border force joint control) – Diantan (Tengchong, Baoshan) *Hpimaw – Pianma (Lushui County, Nujiang Prefecture)

Historical maps

Historical maps of the border from north to south in the

International Map of the World The International Map of the World (IMW; also the Millionth Map of the World, after its scale of 1:1000000) was a project to create a complete map of the world according to internationally agreed standards. It was first proposed by the German g ...

, mid-late 20th century: File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nh-47-1st-ed.jpg, File:Txu-oclc-6654394-ng-47-6th-ed.jpg, File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nf-47-7th-ed.jpg, File:Operational Navigation Chart H-10, 7th edition.jpg, File:Operational Navigation Chart J-10, 10th edition.jpg,

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Myanmar border

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

Borders of China Borders of Myanmar International borders