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The Republics of Central Asia inherited the border and territorial dispute which opposed the PRC and the USSR during the Cold War following their independence in 1991. Contrary to the eastern sector of the Sino-Soviet border, which was settled by an agreement between Moscow and Beijing in 1991, the question of the western sector was not settled at the time of the dissolution of the USSR. Thus, it was not ruled out that Beijing and the new Republics of Central Asia bordering the autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang–in other words, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, and Tajikistan–may be confronted with important difficulties in their bilateral relations. However, twenty years later, decisive progress has been made on this question.