[4] Although it entered production at the Gongxian Arsenal in July 1935, China's limited industrial capacity meant that the rifle was built in relatively low numbers.

[1] As the war progressed, however, China's industry in western cities like Chongqing and Kunming allowed more and more of these rifles to be produced, although quality controls persisted due to the need to move machinery in order to avoid being captured or destroyed by Japanese troops.

[1][5] Together with the Mauser C96 handgun and the M35 Helmet, these weapons have become recognizable features of the Generalissimo's National Revolutionary Army during China's turbulent early 20th century.

[7] Chinese Sergeant Tung Chih Yeh claimed to have shot and killed over 100 Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) soldiers using a Chiang Kai-shek rifle with and without a scope in the Yangtze area.

[11] By the end of the 1940s, the Type Chiang Kai-shek rifle was phased out from frontline service in favor of superior American aid equipment, such as the semiautomatic M1 Garand, M1 carbine, and Thompson submachine gun for the Nationalists.

[citation needed] The Chinese People's Volunteer Army used the Type Zhongzheng rifle during the Korean War alongside other small arms that were provided as military aid to the PRC by the Soviet Union.