After the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical staff and support to China's arms industry. This caused China's domestic tank development to stagnate significantly. In 1963, the PLA People's Liberation Army ordered the development of a new tank based on the Type 59 and which was to be named the "Type 69". In 1965, development objectives were finalized and the product was named "WZ121" internally. In 1966, the first prototype rolled off the factory. However, the Cultural Revolution and its resulting chaos further impeded tank development.