June 23, 2006: A lot of Chinese believe that, on paper, it's new Type 99 tank is superior to the American M-1. For protection, the Type 99 has 500-600mm or armor, plus two layers of reactive army, giving it the equivalent of 1,000-1,200mm of armor. China believes the maximum penetration of the M-1 120mm gun is 810mm. China believes that the protection on the M1 is 600-700mm, and states that the Type 99 main gun can penetrate 850mm (or 950mm with a new shell design.)

However, China may decide it does not want to mass produce the Type 99, which is too heavy for many Chinese bridges, not to mention railroad equipment. Most Chinese tanks are closer to 40 tons, while the Type 99 is closer to 60 tons. It would be cheaper to buy modern anti-tank missiles if you wanted to go after American M1s, or similar tanks used by Japan or Taiwan. China also has to fear that these countries will equip their tanks with one of the several anti-missile systems appearing on the world market, and make the Type 99 a bad investment.

The performance data on the Type 99 (also called the ZTZ-99) is not official. There is very little in the way of official weapons performance data coming out of the Chinese government. At the same time, the Chinese military leaks real, and inflated, data for PR purposes. While China is not a democracy, in this age of the Internet, public opinion can have an influence when the military budget is being put together each year.