Russia is the largest country among China’s land-bordering neighbors.
Russia covers about 17.1 million square kilometres, making it the world’s largest country. It shares a long land border with China in northeastern and southeastern sections of Russia’s Far East and southern Siberia.
China has land borders with 14 countries, including Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and North Korea. Of these neighbors, Russia has by far the greatest total area.
The border between Russia and China was shaped by several historical agreements, including treaties that settled much of their frontier after the Soviet period. A common mistake is selecting Kazakhstan because it is very large and directly borders China; Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth-largest country, while Russia ranks first.