List of wars involving the People's Republic of China

This is a list of wars involving the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC last fought a war in 1979 (the Sino-Vietnamese War) and has fought only in relatively minor engagements since.^[1]^: 72

Wars involving the People's Republic of China

PRC military victory

Indecisive or unclear outcome^[a]

Civil War or internal conflict

PRC military defeat

War	People's Republic of China and allies	Opponents	Result
Chinese Civil War (1927–1949)^[b]	Chinese Communist Party	Republic of China	Victory Formation of the People's Republic of China Nationalist government retreats to Taiwan
Battle of Chamdo (1950)	People's Republic of China	Tibet	Victory People's Republic of China annexes Tibet
Korean War (1950–1953)	North Korea China Soviet Union	South Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Ethiopia Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg	Ceasefire North Korean invasion of South Korea repelled UN invasion of North Korea repelled Chinese-North Korean invasion of South Korea repelled DMZ established, little territorial change at the 38th parallel border, essentially uti possidetis
First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–1955)	PRC	ROC United States	Ceasefire PRC withdrawal, status quo ante bellum.
China–Burma border campaign (1960–1961)	PRC Burma	ROC	Victory Kuomintang expelled from Burma
Sino-Indian War (1962)	China	India	Victory Status quo ante bellum
Nathu La and Cho La clashes (1967)	China	India	Defeat PRC withdrawal from Nathu La and Cho La
Sino-Soviet Border Conflict (1969)	China	Soviet Union	Defeat Status quo ante bellum
Vietnam War (1965–1969)	North Vietnam Viet Cong Pathet Lao Khmer Rouge China Soviet Union North Korea	South Vietnam United States South Korea Australia New Zealand Laos Cambodia Khmer Republic Thailand	Withdrawal Withdrawal of American-led forces from Indochina Communist governments take power in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia China took over Paracel Islands from South Vietnam South Vietnam is annexed by North Vietnam Breakdown in Sino-Vietnamese relations leading to the Sino-Vietnamese War
Sino-Vietnamese War (1979)	China	Vietnam	Status quo antebellum, both sides claim victory Chinese withdrawal from Vietnam Continued Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia until 1989 Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991)

Other conflicts

UN peacekeeping missions and anti-piracy

References

Notes

^ A treaty or peace with an indecisive, inconclusive result, or resulting in status quo ante bellum.
^
Although main fighting ceased in 1949, warfare with the Republic of China continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s with the
- Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958)
- First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–1955)
- Second Taiwan Strait Crisis (1958)
- Campaign at the China–Burma Border (1960–1961)

Citations

^ Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-25231-8.

Lea, David; Boland-Crewe, Tara (2002). The Territories of the People's Republic of China. London: Europa Publications. ISBN 978-1-85743-149-0.
McKnight, Brian E.; Zürcher, Erik. "China". Encyclopædia Britannica.
"Wars that People's Republic of China fought". The Economic Times. December 20, 2009. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013.
Jun, Niu (2010). "The birth of the People's Republic of China and the road to the Korean War". In Leffler, Melvyn P.; Westad, Odd Arne (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Cambridge University Press. pp. 221–243. doi:10.1017/chol9780521837194.012. ISBN 978-1-139-05611-3.
Li, Xiaobing, ed. (2012). China at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-415-3.
Lynch, Michael J. (2010). The Chinese Civil War, 1945-49. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-671-3.
Mackerras, Colin; McMillen, Donald Hugh; Watson, Andrew, eds. (1998). Dictionary of the Politics of the People's Republic of China. Routledge in Asia. London ; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-15450-5.
Military Power of the People's Republic of China (PDF) (Report). Office of the Secretary of Defense. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2010.
Zhu, Zhiqun, ed. (2011). The People's Republic of China Today: Internal and External Challenges. Singapore ; Hackensack, N.J: World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-4313-50-6.

[2] A treaty or peace with an indecisive, inconclusive result, or resulting in status quo ante bellum.

[3] Although main fighting ceased in 1949, warfare with the Republic of China continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s with the
Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958)

First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–1955)

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis (1958)

Campaign at the China–Burma Border (1960–1961)

[3] Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958)

[4] First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–1955)

[5] Second Taiwan Strait Crisis (1958)

[6] Campaign at the China–Burma Border (1960–1961)

[:13-1] Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-25231-8.

[1]

[a]

[b]

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