China and Russia signed an agreement today to end a long-running dispute over the demarcation of their eastern border.


Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed the agreement with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, but no details were immediately released on how the border issues were resolved.


"From a legal point of view we have created the preconditions for the border to become a link of stability, openness, mutual benefit, friendship and cooperation," Lavrov said.


The tug-of-war over the eastern part of their 4,300-kilometre border reaches back centuries to their competition for territory as imperial China and Czarist Russia expanded towards each other.


Russia is also reported to return Yinlong Island (also known as Tarabarov Island) and half of Heixiazi Island (Bolshoi Ussuriysky) to China. The 174 square kilo meters of territory are on the northeast border with China.


Former Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a border agreement with China in 2004. But it is not clear how far that accord went to resolve the dispute over the stretch of river and islands along China's northeastern border with Russia's Far East.