LONDON -- In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao stood together in the State Guest House in Beijing while their respective foreign secretaries signed an historic agreement defining the two countries' common 4,374-km border for the first time. The border was an issue over which several battles had been fought in the past.
It took a while to close the deal because of disagreement over a few islands in the Amur, Ussuri and Argun rivers, which make up China's northwest border with Russia.
Nobody spoiled the party by pointing out that this border is between Inner (Chinese) and Outer (Russian) Manchuria, both of which belonged to China until Russia forced a couple of unequal treaties on the weak Qing emperor in 1858 and 1860. In fact, these are the last treaties of China's "Hundred Years of Humiliation" that have not been canceled.