Chinese forces were soundly outfought by Vietnam in the 1979 border conflict, which led to many reappointments and changes of philosophy within the Chinese mili

Chinese forces were soundly outfought by Vietnam in the 1979 border conflict, which led to many reappointments and changes of philosophy within the Chinese military. It can be seen as the inflection point where China realised that churning out vast numbers of obsolete Soviet designs had to yield to quality and training.