Sino-Vietnamese War

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Sino-Vietnamese War
Part of the Third Indochina War, the Sino-Soviet split and the Cold War
Map of Vietnamese cities that were attacked by China
Date 17 February – 16 March 1979 (3 weeks and 6 days) Location China–Vietnam border, Northwest Vietnam, Northeast Vietnam Result Status quo ante bellum; both sides claim victory Chinese troops temporarily occupy Vietnamese territory along the China–Vietnam border before withdrawing [1][2][3] Continued Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia until 1989[4] Vietnamese authorities increase their expulsions of overseas Chinese from Vietnam[5] Continuation of border clashes between China and Vietnam until 1991
Belligerents
China	Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Hua Guofeng (CCP Chairman, Premier) Deng Xiaoping (PLA Chief of Staff) Ye Jianying (National Congress Chairman) Xu Xiangqian (Defense Minister) Yang Dezhi (Commander of the Kunming Military Region) Xu Shiyou (Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region)	Lê Duẩn (General Secretary) Võ Nguyên Giáp (Defence Minister) Tôn Đức Thắng (President) Văn Tiến Dũng (Commander in Chief) Đàm Quang Trung (Commander of the First Military Region) Vũ Lập (Commander of the Second Military Region)
Strength
Chinese claim: 200,000 soldiers[6] 400–550 tanks[6] and 60 APCs[7] Vietnamese claim: 600,000 soldiers[8]	70,000–100,000 soldiers 150,000 irregulars and militia[9]
Casualties and losses
Chinese estimate: 6,954 killed 14,800–21,000 wounded 238 captured[6][10][11] 76 tanks/APCs destroyed, 533 damaged[7] Vietnamese estimate: 62,000 casualties, including 48,000 deaths[12][13][14][15] 420 tanks/APCs destroyed[16] 66 heavy mortars and guns destroyed[16] Western estimate: 26,000 killed 37,000 wounded 260 captured[17]	Chinese estimate: 42,000[13]–57,000 soldiers killed 70,000 militia killed[10] 1,636 captured[14][15] 185 tanks/APCs destroyed[16] 200 heavy mortars and guns destroyed[16] 6 missile launchers destroyed[16] Western estimate: 30,000 killed 32,000 wounded 1,638 captured[11]

History of the People's Republic of China
1949–1976
Mao era Revolution Proclamation Korean War Land Reform Movement Zhen Fan Three-anti and Five-anti Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Bandung Conference Sufan Hundred Flowers Anti-Rightist Canton Fair Two Bombs, One Satellite Great Leap Forward (Great Chinese Famine) Seven Thousand Cadres Conference Socialist Education Movement Third Front Cultural Revolution Restoring legitimate seat in the UN 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China
1976–1989
Transition and Deng era Arrest of the Gang of Four Boluan Fanzheng 1978 Truth Criterion Controversy Message to Compatriots in Taiwan [zh] Reforms and Opening-up Four Special Economic Zones Establishment of China-US Relations (Three Communiques) Four Modernizations Sino-Vietnamese War Beijing Spring Strike Hard Anti-crime Campaign Sino-British Joint Declaration Campaign against spiritual pollution Bourgeois liberalization Anti-bourgeois liberalization 863 Program 1986 Chinese student demonstrations Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration Revolutions of 1989 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
1989–2002
Jiang and the third generation Shanghai Stock Exchange Pudong New District Deng Xiaoping's southern tour 1992 consensus One country, two systems Hong Kong Macau 1998 China floods Embassy in Belgrade Bombed Persecution of Falun Gong China Western Development Hainan Island incident Bidding Beijing 2008 APEC China 2001 Joining WTO Forum on China–Africa Cooperation Shanghai Cooperation Organization
2002–2012
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2012–present
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The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a brief conflict that occurred in early 1979 between China and Vietnam. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978, which ended the rule of the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge. The conflict lasted for about a month, with China withdrawing its troops in March 1979.

In February 1979, Chinese forces launched a surprise invasion of northern Vietnam and quickly captured several cities near the border. On 6 March of that year, China declared that its punitive mission had been accomplished. Chinese troops then withdrew from Vietnam. However, Vietnam continued to occupy Cambodia until 1989, which means that China did not achieve its goal of dissuading Vietnam from involvement in Cambodia. However, China's operation at least successfully forced Vietnam to withdraw some units, namely the 2nd Corps, from the invasion forces of Cambodia to reinforce the defense of Hanoi.^[18] The conflict had a lasting impact on the relationship between China and Vietnam, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were not fully restored until 1991. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Sino-Vietnamese border was finalized. Although unable to deter Vietnam from ousting Pol Pot from Cambodia, China demonstrated that the Soviet Union, its Cold War communist adversary, was unable to protect its Vietnamese ally.^[19]