Though the Chinese sustained heavy losses in fighting, they were successful in capturing and occupying the city of Lào Cai and the surrounding towns.

[4][5] The 345th, which had originally been an economic construction unit transformed into a combat division, took responsibility for defending Bảo Thắng, while the elite 316th was garrisoned in the Bình Lư area.

[4] 20,000 troops from the PLA 13th Army crossed the Red River into Bát Xát using pontoon bridges, quickly overrunning the Vietnamese defense held by the VPA 192nd Regiment, as well as the independent 2nd and Lào Cai Battalions.

[4] Two Chinese regiments were held off at Mống Xến and in the area south of Chu Dang and west of Nhạc Sơn, which forced the PLA to change their plan into a mop-up operation against the Vietnamese strongholds.

[4] From 22 to 25 February, its 148th Regiment launched repetitive attacks against the Chinese block at Thay Nai, but failed to break through and secure its way to Cam Đường.

[9] Chinese efforts now concentrating on cutting off the retreat of the VPA 316th Division, as the PLA 447th Regiment skirted around Mount Phan Xi Pang through the Hoang Lien Son Pass and maneuvered toward the direction of Bình Lư, which was 44 km west of Sapa.

Despite showing excellent combat performance, the VPA 316th Division was finally forced to retreat due to the lack of manpower.

The PLA did, however, succeed in at least one of their key goals – engaging a considerable Vietnamese regular force and inflicting heavy losses, even at a high cost for themselves.