The history of the formation of the modern Kyrgyz-Chinese border dates back to the second half of the 19th century, during the period of Russia's conquest of the Kokand Khanate, when the lands of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz previously captured by Kokand were gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire. Its new territories in the Central Asian-Kazakhstan region reached the borders with the Chinese Empire: the Semirechye region with its Issyk-Kul (later known as Przhevalsk) district and the Fergana region with its Osh district, part of the Turkestan General Governorship (from 1867 to 1886, then Turkestan Krai), directly bordered Xinjiang (translated into Russian as "New Border") — the northwestern province of the Celestial Empire. This province was established by the Qing after their conquest of the Dzungar Khanate (1859). Thus, issues of Kyrgyz-Chinese relations, including the resettlement of Tien Shan and Eastern Turkestan Kyrgyz, who found themselves in territories controlled by two neighboring empires without defined borders, intertwined with Russian-Chinese relations, with the history of establishing de facto and de jure borders between Russia and China from Tien Shan to Pamir.
However, negotiations on the delimitation of the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire adjacent to the Qing Empire were conducted without the representation of the Turkestan peoples, including the Kyrgyz, without regard for their pressing national interests.
The total length of the state border of the Kyrgyz Republic with the PRC is over a thousand kilometers — 1071.8.
The legal basis for determining the line of the Russian-Chinese, then Soviet-Chinese border, and subsequently the borders of the new independent states — successors of the USSR, including the Kyrgyz Republic, was defined by a number of fundamental bilateral treaties, protocols, and agreements signed over nearly a quarter of a century — from 1860 to 1884.
The most important of these for the Kyrgyz-Chinese section of the Russian-Chinese border were: the Beijing Additional Treaty of November 2, 1860; the Chuguchak Protocol (Treaty) of September 23, 1864; the St. Petersburg Treaty of February 12, 1881; the Kashgar Protocol (Treaty) of November 23, 1882; the Novo-Margelan Protocol (Treaty) of May 22, 1884, and others. These diplomatic documents are recognized as the main foundational basis for the actual delimitation of the adjacent territories of the two states and for resolving the arising disagreements regarding specific unresolved and "disputed areas," gaps in the description and mapping of the border.
Thus, the Beijing Treaty of 1860, in addition to the one signed in 1858 in Tianjin, finally completed the border demarcation of the territories of the two neighboring empires — Russian and Chinese in the Far East, and the determination of the line of the western part of the Russian-Chinese border in Central Asia was already being outlined. The treaty established the condition of a "border line" and roughly indicated the general direction of the Russian-Chinese border from Mongolia to the former possessions of Kokand. The treaty (and this turned out to be a very important part) recognized the principles of the forthcoming establishment of the border line based on the geographical principle of "following the direction of mountains, the flow of major rivers" and the line of existing Chinese outposts. In reality, their interpretations in detail in subsequent practical applications on the ground did not always coincide both at the top and among the border commissioners of both sides. Compromise proposals were often not accepted by the negotiating parties.
This, of course, delayed the conduct and completion of the delimitation and demarcation of the common border.
The Chuguchak Protocol of September 25, 1864 established border service and consular relations, regulated trade on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz part of the Russian-Chinese border. This was of direct interest to Russian merchants and the Kyrgyz-Kazakh population — nomadic livestock breeders, who had long maintained trade relations with the inhabitants of urban centers in the oases of Eastern Turkestan. As for the determination of the "border line" between the territories of Russia and China, it was marked in the text of the protocol and on exchange maps by Russian and Chinese commissioners — Medinsky and Sha in accessible mountainous areas along the peaks of mountains and watersheds of mountain ranges. For example, in point 3 of this protocol, it was indicated that when transferring the border across the Tekes River, it should be conducted along the Naryn-Khalha River (Narynkol) and then pushed to the Tien Shan ridge. From there, following southwest, the border should run along the peaks of Khan Tengri, Sawabtsi, and others, known collectively as the Tien Shan ridge, separating the pastures of the buruts (Kyrgyz) from Turkestan (Xinjiang province of China) and located south of Lake Temurtunor, i.e., Lake Issyk-Kul, and "push" the border to the Tsunlin ridge (Pamir). Such a general, without mentioning specific geographical objects, "straightened" description of the border line over more than 1000 km — from the Kazakh steppes to areas of compact habitation of Kyrgyz tribes — could not fail to cause disagreements and disputes during negotiations and the establishment of the border line. Such and similar circumstances explained the inevitable need for concluding new bilateral treaties and agreements between the Russian and Chinese empires, then between the Soviet Union and the PRC, and in our days — between sovereign Kyrgyzstan and the PRC.
The St. Petersburg Treaty of February 12, 1881 provided for the elimination of identified deficiencies in defining the "border line," as defined by the Chuguchak Protocol of 1864; the appointment of commissioners to inspect the border and establish border markers between the Kashgar region of China and the Fergana region of Russia.
The Kashgar Protocol of November 25, 1882 defined the borders of Russia with China from the headwaters of the Narynkol River to the Bedel Pass (Kokshaala-Tuu ridge) — the modern segment of the Kyrgyz-Chinese border, marked on the spot by commissioners due to difficult mountainous conditions with only one border marker at the named pass.
According to the Novo-Margelan Protocol (Treaty) of May 29, 1884 (in execution of the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1881), the border between Russia and China was established and conducted from the Bedel Pass in the Kokshaala-Tuu ridge, and from it along the main Tien Shan ridge to the Tuyun-Suek Pass and further south to the Uz-Bel Pass in the Sarykol ridge on the Pamir: "Starting from the Bedel Pass, where last year (1883 — Ed. note) border markers were set by the commissioners of both states, the border line goes west along the Kokshaal ridge, which has no mountain passes, then turns along the main Tien Shan ridge to the south" to the Uz-Bel Pass. According to this protocol, 28 border markers were placed on the established border from the Bedel Pass to the Irkeshatam point, while from the latter to the Uz-Bel Pass, border markers were absent.
However, these and other documents on border demarcation, especially the description of the border demarcation, and the maps attached to them did not differ in accuracy and clarity due to the lack of knowledge by members and authorized representatives of the delimitation commissions of the actual structure of the surface of the borderlands, the actual location of mountain ranges, their peaks, rivers, and their directions. Thus, a simplified description of the border line was recorded.
As a result, two versions of the border line emerged between Russia and China. One — contractual, the passage of which was fixed by imperfect, but recognized by both states bilateral documents, the other — actually guarded, differing from the contractual in that it was never recognized bilaterally. Moreover, in the early years of the existence of the PRC, the issue of borders was not acute. Border claims from official Beijing intensified from the late 1950s due to the exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations.
The negotiation process for border settlement between the USSR and the PRC, which began in 1964, revealed 25 "disputed areas" covering more than 34,000 km², regarding which the opinions of the two sides on the contractual line of the Soviet-Chinese border did not coincide. Among them were five sections on the Kyrgyz part of the border with a total area of about 3750 km²: about 450 km² in the area of Khan Tengri Peak; about 250 km² in the area of the Irkeshatam Pass; 180 km² in the area of Zhany-Zher; in the basin of the Uzenku-Kuush River about 2840 km² within 5 km of the Bedel Pass; 12 km² in the area of Bozaygyr-Khodzhent.
These "disputed areas" along the state border line were the result of the imperfection of previously adopted treaties, as well as the shifting of the guarded border through unilateral actions by the USSR and the PRC to ensure their security by constructing defensive fortifications and economically developing territories. Moreover, at the negotiations, such actions were mutually recognized as violations of international law.
Border negotiations with China continued intermittently for more than three decades. The consultations of Soviet-Chinese representatives on border issues held in 1964 in Beijing did not lead to any concrete results. At that time, the parties practically began to consider the "disputed areas" in the western part of the Soviet-Chinese border. There was no understanding between the two sides in subsequent border negotiations, which resumed in 1969 (after the meeting of the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers A. Kosygin with the Premier of the State Council of the PRC Zhou Enlai) and continued until 1979. The parties, remaining on their positions, did not approach constructive consideration of border issues.
At the Soviet-Chinese negotiations, resumed in 1987, an agreement was reached to clarify the passage of the border line based on existing Russian-Chinese treaty documents on the border in accordance with the norms of modern international law, principles of fairness and rationality, mutual understanding, and mutual concessions. During the first Soviet-Chinese summit meeting in May 1989 in Beijing, these principles were recorded in a joint final communiqué.
The above-mentioned principles were recognized by the Kyrgyz side in May 1992 and recorded in point 9 of the Joint Kyrgyz-Chinese communiqué.
In clarifying and establishing the line of the border during the negotiation process on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border, the compliance of its treaty documents was placed at the forefront. Building a rule of law state, Kyrgyzstan naturally proceeded from the necessity of adhering to international law in relations with foreign states, in this case — with China.
It should be noted that negotiations to resolve the Kyrgyz-Chinese section of the state border were conducted between the USSR and the PRC from 1964 to 1991 within the framework of the general negotiation process of the two countries. After the collapse of the USSR, the Chinese side declared the need to conduct negotiations with each of the former union republics bordering China separately in the formats: China — Russia, China — Kazakhstan, China — Kyrgyzstan, and China — Tajikistan. As a result of subsequent lengthy diplomatic consultations, the Chinese side agreed to the proposal to conduct border negotiations in the format of a joint delegation — PRC, and in 1992 a joint delegation was formed, uniting the government delegations of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
Within the framework of these negotiations from 1992 to 1996, Bishkek and Beijing agreed on the passage of the border line in four of the five "disputed areas." The most difficult to resolve were the sections in the area of Khan Tengri Peak and in the area "west of the Bedel Pass."
During the negotiations, it was possible to quadruple the Kyrgyz share of access to Khan Tengri Peak (overall, 61% was secured for the KR, 39% for the PRC) and defend the border line at Victory Peak in accordance with Kyrgyzstan's position. According to the Chinese version, Khan Tengri Peak was to belong entirely to the PRC.
The issue of ownership of the disputed areas of Zhanyzher and Irkeshatam was resolved taking into account the long-term actual economic activities of the population in those areas. As a result, the parties decided on a compromise basis not to disrupt the long-established livelihoods of the population of these territories and thus secure the named areas for both states.
As a result of the negotiations on July 4, 1996, the heads of state signed an agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the People's Republic of China on the Kyrgyz-Chinese state border. The area located in the watershed of the Uzenku-Kuush River entered the agreement with a special status, under which the parties agreed to continue negotiations.
With the signing of this agreement, Kyrgyzstan legally secured its external borders for the first time on an international legal basis over a distance of more than 1000 km. This document passed all domestic procedures and came into force on April 27, 1998, from the day of the exchange of ratification letters.
After the signing of the main agreement on the Kyrgyz-Chinese state border in 1996, the issue of clarifying and establishing the line of its passage in the area "west of the Bedel Pass" (the area of the Uzenku-Kuush River) remained, the determination of which was characterized by a particularly complex course of the negotiation process between Kyrgyzstan and China. In this area, according to the Chinese version presented to the Soviet side in 1964, the border line from the Bedel Pass was marked along the highest points of the Bedel and Borcoldy ridges, along the watershed of the Chon-Uzenku-Kuush River, and connected with the ridge of the Kokshaala-Tuu, completely encompassing the basin of the Chon-Uzenku-Kuush River. According to the Soviet version, the border line from the Bedel Pass stretches west, then turns south and, after crossing the Chon-Uzenku-Kuush River, reaches the ridge of the Kokshaala-Tuu in the shortest way.
For some time, both sides consistently and stubbornly defended their position on this "disputed area," but showed flexibility, not exceeding the principled conditions of border settlement and sharing the opinion on the necessity of jointly accelerating the resolution of this issue.
After repeated interstate and intergovernmental consultations, as a result of complex and numerous negotiations in 1999, a mutually acceptable solution was found regarding the line of the Kyrgyz-Chinese state border in the area of Uzenku-Kuush, and a draft additional agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the People's Republic of China on the Kyrgyz-Chinese state border was prepared. This agreement was signed by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic A. Akayev and the Chairman of the PRC Jiang Zemin on August 26, 1999, in Bishkek.
The settlement of the last "disputed area" between Kyrgyzstan and China in the Uzenku-Kuush area became the final act in resolving more than 150 years of disagreements on border issues between the Russian and Chinese empires, the USSR and the PRC, Bishkek and Beijing. The current line of the state border between Kyrgyzstan and China is fully legally formalized in the additional agreement on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border of 1999, ratified by the parliaments of both countries.