By the winter of 1948, the balance of power in Northern China was shifting in favor of the People's Liberation Army.

As the Communist Fourth Field Army led by Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan entered the North China Plain after the conclusion of the Liaoshen campaign, Fu Zuoyi and the Nationalist government in Nanjing decided to abandon Chengde, Baoding, Shanhai Pass and Qinhuangdao collectively and withdraw the remaining Nationalist troops to Beiping, Tianjin and Zhangjiakou and consolidate the defense in these garrisons.

The Nationalists were hoping to preserve their strength and reinforce Xuzhou where another major campaign was under its way, or alternatively to retreat to the nearby Suiyuan Province if necessary.

On 23 November 1948, Lin Biao's army gained control of Shanhaiguan and severed the Beijing-Tianjin railroad.

After capturing both Zhangjiakou and Xinbao'an, the PLA began to amass troops around the Tianjin area beginning on 2 January 1949.

Immediately after the conclusion of Huaihai campaign in the south, the PLA launched the final assault on Tianjin on 14 January.

[2]: 58  On 31 January, the PLA's Fourth Field Army entered Beiping to take over the city which marked the conclusion of the campaign.

[citation needed] The KMT's defeat in the Pingjin campaign ended its ability to be an effective fighting force on the mainland.