The ZBD 2000 was publicly revealed in 2006. At that time it was already in service with the PLA Marine Corps. This armored vehicle is sometimes referred as the ZLT-05 or ZTD-05. It became a successor to the Type 63A amphibious light tank.

It is a variant of the ZBD 2000 amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, but fitted with a more powerful armament. Sometimes it is referred as a tracked fire support vehicle, however it is a light tank by its function. Development and expansion of this new high-speed amphibious vehicle family shows the high level of resources China is devoting towards the amphibious assault capabilities. This vehicle is being proposed for export customers. Its export designation is VN16. This amphibious light tank has been exported to Venezuela.

In concept the ZBD 2000 is similar to the US Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, though fitted with heavier armor. Vehicle has a large welded hull, specially designed for high-speed swimming.

The tank is armed with a fully-stabilized 105 mm rifled gun. It is the same gun, found of the Type 63A amphibious tank. This gun is loaded manually. It has effective range of over 2 000 m against armored targets. It is speculated, that its HEAT round penetrates around 460-500 mm of steel armor. It also fires APFSDS, HE rounds and gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles. These laser-guided missiles were developed from the Russian 9M117 Bastion technology and are fired in the same manner as ordinary projectiles. Maximum range of fire is 4-5 km and hit probability is 90% against static targets. These missiles can also target low flying helicopters. The ZBD 2000 can fire both ordinary rounds and anti-tank guided missiles while swimming.

Secondary armament consists of coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mounted on top of the roof.

The ZBD 2000 has a crew of four and provides accommodation for at least four troops. Troops dismount through the rear exit door.

The ZBD 2000 light tank uses the same hull as the infantry fighting vehicle. It is claimed, that front turret armor of this light tank withstands 25 mm armor-piercing rounds at a range of 1 000 m. All-round protection is against 7.62 mm armor-piercing rounds.

Engine is located at the front of the planning hull. It develops 590 hp on land and 1 580 hp on water. Vehicle has a hydraulically-activated bow, transom flaps and is propelled on water by two waterjets. When actuated, bow and transom flaps form a planning surface together with the bottom of the hull. This light tank is planning on water, rather than pushing through. Vehicle has a 90 km cruising range on water.

The ZBD 2000 has a maximum amphibious speed on water of 25 km/h. Vehicle can travel 10 km or more at sea. It may not reach the swimming performance of the US Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle however it is considerable improvement over US AAV7. Eventually the US Marine Corps cancelled the EFV program. Currently China is the only country to operate such unique high-speed amphibious tank.

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