" But China had also been very generous in helping North Vietnam fight the United States . When Vietnam's first party secretary Le Duan visited Beijing from April 18 to April 23 , 1965 , seeking help during the stepped - up United States air attacks on North Vietnam , Presidnet Liu Shaoqi told Le Duan that whatever the Vietnamese needed , the Chinese would attempt to supply . During that visit , Deng met Le Duan upon his arrival at the airport , joined Liu Shaoqi in meeting with him , and then saw him off at the airport . Afterward , the Chinese set up a small group under the State Council to coordinate China's aid to North Vietnam ; it represented some twenty - one branches of government , including military , transport , construction , and rear services . According to Chinese records , from June 1965 to August 1973 China dispatched a total of 320,000 ' volunteers ' to Vietnam to help with anti-aircraft weaponry , machinery repair , road and railway construction , communications , airport repair , mine sweeping , rear services , and other activities . At their peak , there were some 170,000 Chinese troops in Vietnam at one time . China reported some 1,100 Chinese deaths and 4,200 seriously wounded during the war , but some Chinese scholars estimate that this figure is in the tens of thousands . "
" In 1978 Deng reported to Singapore's prime minister Lee Kuan Yew that while the Americans were in Vietnam , China had shipped goods to Vietnam that were worth over U.S. $ 10 billion at the time , even more aid than China had provided to North Korea during the Korean War . As the Chinese expanded their support for Vietnam , they sent in their own engineering and construction troops , anti - aircraft artillery , and additional supplies . "