Chinese official wanted the new ammunition to be developed to have a caliber of around 6 mm (0.24 in) and a muzzle velocity of around 1,000 m/s (3,300 ft/s).

Compared to the standard 7.62×39mm cartridge, recoil and weight were to be reduced whilst accuracy and terminal ballistics had to be improved.

The Type 95 / QBZ-95 (Chinese: 轻武器,步枪,自动, 1995; pinyin: Qīng wǔqì, Bùqiāng, Zìdòng, 1995; lit.

Cartridges like the Belgian 5.56×45mm NATO, Soviet 5.45×39mm, and Chinese 5.8×42mm allow a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight compared to their larger and heavier predecessor cartridges, have favourable maximum point-blank range or "battle zero" characteristics and produce relatively low bolt thrust and free recoil impulse, favouring light weight arms design and automatic fire accuracy.

[2] In June 2004, an improved version of the 5.8×42mm cartridge entered development as the matching ammunition for the revised assault rifle, Type 95-1.

The People's Liberation Army claims that the 5.8×42mm is superior to the 5.56×45mm NATO SS109 and the 5.45×39mm 7N6; stating it has better armor penetration of 10 mm (0.39 in) at 300 m (980 ft), a flatter trajectory, and a higher retention of velocity and energy downrange.

To reduce the chance of rust, the case is covered in a thin layer of protective paint in dark brown.

To ensure high extraction reliability, the case has a thick rim and a large extractor groove.

Its performance remains similar and the production costs are higher, but the negative effects on the weapon are reduced.

[7] The DBP10 cartridge was developed in 2010 and has a hardened steel-cored 4.6 grams (71 gr) bullet, a muzzle velocity of 915 metres per second (3,002 ft/s) from a standard barrel (Type 95 / QBZ-95, 463 mm barrel length) and was designed to match nine different then serving 5.8×42mm chambered weapons.

The QBU-141, a small caliber sniper rifle intended to be used with 5.8×42mm DBU-141 high-precision ammunition in a 10-round box magazine.

The specifically designed munition improves accuracy, whereas China's previous sniper/designated marksman rifles use standard machine gun rounds.