After the 1949 victory of the Chinese communists under the leadership of Mao Zedong and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Việt Minh gained an important, if problematic, ally. At this time, the Việt Minh desperately needed Chinese medical supplies and training. Starting in May 1951, supplies from the USSR also began to cross the North Vietnam-China border. Between 1952 and 1954, the Việt Minh received over 100 tonnes of medical supplies and equipment from China and the USSR.

In a now largely forgotten episode of the First Indochina War, the Việt Minh charged the French with the use of biological weapons after similar allegations had been made against the US military in North Korea and China. This path explores how the Việt Minh learned the details of the charges and how to develop their own study of imperialistic germ warfare. First see some of the images related to germ warfare produced in China and compare them to the Việt Minh pamphlet viewed in Path 1. Also consider some of the evidence provided at an international conference advancing the charges of US germ warfare. Then consider the structure and work of the Việt Minh's Committee to investigate biological weapons. Finally, look at the rural surveys conducted by the Việt Minh and consider what their results tell us about germ warfare in northern Vietnam and rural society of the 1950s more generally.