Tank origin

Rising tensions caused by the Sino-Soviet split and the subsequent Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 (Zhenbao Island Incident/Damanskiy Island Border Conflict) forced China to begin more aggressive efforts in domestically designed and developed armored vehicles. The WZ-122, largely based on Soviet-style technology, was one of the efforts at a Chinese domestic Main Battle Tank design featuring a 120 mm cannon. The WZ-122 featured a cast turret, and experimented with a variety of suspensions, including a hydropneumatic suspension system, and a more traditional torsion bar system. The prototype was considered too complex for the current state of Chinese heavy industry and the prototypes were abandoned after an extended evaluation test.