China attacked Vietnam to "teach it a lesson", showing the limits of Soviet support but at heavy cost.
Deng Xiaoping visited the USA in January 1979 and told Carter that China might need to teach Vietnam a lesson. On 17 February 1979, Chinese forces attacked across the border.
China massed around 170,000 troops in the first wave. The fighting was fierce, and Chinese casualties were heavy. China captured several provincial capitals and announced its withdrawal in March, completing it by mid-March.
The USSR protested but did not intervene militarily. China thus showed that the Soviet treaty did not protect Vietnam fully.
The war did not force Vietnam out of Cambodia. Afterwards, China kept up pressure on the border and armed the Khmer Rouge, aiming to "bleed" Vietnam in a long war of attrition.
- Chinese attack
- 17 February 1979.
- Withdrawal
- Completed by mid-March 1979.
- Deng's US visit
- January 1979.
Worked example: Assessing China's aims
Did China achieve its aims in 1979?
- Aim: punish Vietnam and draw it away from Cambodia. Not achieved.
- Aim: show the limits of the Soviet alliance. Largely achieved.
- Aim: stand up to Soviet encirclement. Partly achieved, with US tolerance.
- Cost: heavy casualties exposed weaknesses in China's army.
Watch out for this
China's attack forced Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia.
Vietnam stayed in Cambodia until 1989. China's attack failed to achieve that aim.
Check your understanding
What did the 1979 war show about the Soviet-Vietnamese treaty?
- The USSR would not fight China to defend Vietnam.
- The USSR sent troops to fight China.
- The treaty was cancelled.