Vietnam and Cambodia

 China should pay compensation to Vietnam.

And also to Cambodia.

Vietnam

While there is no definitive, single dollar figure universally accepted for the total property damage, the systematic "scorched earth" destruction of Vietnam's northern industrial base by retreating Chinese forces in March 1979 effectively crippled Vietnam's economy and cost the nation a lost decade of development.

During the month-long Sino-Vietnamese War, Chinese troops targeted the very infrastructure Beijing had previously helped build, purposefully aiming to bleed Vietnam economically.

Physical Assets and Infrastructure Destroyed

The destruction was concentrated across Vietnam's northern border provinces, primarily Lạng Sơn, Cao Bằng, and Lào Cai. According to contemporary Vietnamese reports and historical analyses, the structural damage included:

* Cities & Housing: 4 major provincial capitals and several towns were completely flattened, leaving nearly half of the 3.5 million residents in the warzone homeless.

* Industrial Facilities: Vital mineral and asset hubs, including the major Cam Đường apatite (fertilizer) mines, were completely dynamited.

* Public Institutions: Up to 400 schools, 430 hospitals, and local clinics were entirely obliterated.

* Logistics & Transit: Bridges, kilometers of rail lines, and major roadways connecting North Vietnam were systemically wrecked to impede future military maneuvering.

* Agriculture: Over 100,000 hectares of farmland were ruined, and hundreds of thousands of head of cattle were slaughtered or stolen, obliterating the region's food security.

Long-Term Economic Impact

* Budget Strain: The immense paranoia of another Chinese invasion forced Vietnam to drain nearly half of its national budget into maintaining a million-man standing army throughout the 1980s.

* Economic Redirection: With its core industrial heartland in ruins, Vietnam could not easily recover from its post-Vietnam War slump. This forced Hanoi into total economic dependency on the Soviet Union until the implementation of the Đổi Mới (market renovation) reforms in 1986.

Casualties and Human Cost

Civilian Toll: Vietnamese reports cite roughly 10,000 to over 100,000 civilian deaths and widespread displacement across the northern sector.Military Losses: Western estimates place military deaths at roughly 20,000 to 30,000 for Vietnam, and 26,000 for China, though official figures from both governments vary heavily.

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How much compensation to Vietnam?

Idk. Maybe a trillion to Vietnam. It seems a little low to me. But China is poor too!

How much economic growth did they miss because of China?? Maybe it should be 2-3 trillion?

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A quick little bit about Cambodia

China heavily funded and supported Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime, providing at least 90 percent of their foreign financial, military, and technical aid.

Extent of Chinese Support

Financial and Material Aid: China gave Pol Pot at least US $1 billion in interest-free economic and military aid in 1975 alone. This included tanks, artillery, ships, ammunition, food, and construction equipment.

Advisers: Thousands of Chinese military and technical advisers were sent to Cambodia to train and support the regime.

Political Backing: Pol Pot met with Mao Zedong in Beijing in June 1975 to receive political approval and strategic advice. After Vietnamese forces overthrew the regime in 1979, China continued to supply weaponry to the Khmer Rouge along the Thai-Cambodian border through the 1980s and helped them retain their United Nations seat.

Ummmmmmmm. Not everyone knows how bad Cambodia was. If you don’t know how bad it was, it’s a “must read” part of history.