China ratifies border agreement with Tajikistan, Afghanistan

The China-Tajikistan-Afghanistan agreement on the definition of the tri-junction point for national boundaries was ratified by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature. The agreement is based on relevant border pacts with Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and it was reached through negotiations among the three nations, said Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who was entrusted by the State Council to explain the agreement to the NPC Standing Committee, according to China’s News agency (Xinhua). “The ratification of the agreement is of great significance to maintain peace along the border areas, and will further promote friendship among the three countries,” he said. In 2010, China held border negotiations and signed a draft agreement with Tajikistan and Afghanistan. In June 2012, the foreign ministers from the three countries signed the agreement in Beijing.