The two nations have been developing closer ties China and
Russia have signed a treaty settling a long-running territorial
dispute along their border. The pact - signed in Beijing by the
two countries' foreign ministers - marks the end of a dispute
which has been going on for 40 years. The area saw armed clashes
between the two sides during the Cold War. Correspondents say
the deal is the latest sign of warmer ties developing between
Russia - a big energy exporter - and China, a big energy
consumer. The border between China and Russia is 4,300 km (2,700
miles) long, and the latest treaty resolves a dispute over the
eastern part of the border. According to Chinese reports, Russia
will return all of Yinlong island (known in Russian as
Tarabarov) and half of Heixiazi island (Bolshoi Ussuriyasky) to
China. China and the former Soviet Union fought border wars over
this part of the territory nearly 40 years ago - when a rift
developed between the two communist nations over after ideology.
But since the end of the C