VAR calls and penalty appeals took centre stage in Adelaide with a first-half red card for Rui Zhang throwing a spanner in the works amid China's domination.
The second 45 was far from quiet in terms of drama and controversy either, Linyan Zhang winning a penalty for her side after initially being flagged for offside, her teammate Wang Shuang tucking the ball home with roughly 15 minutes left to defend their newly-found lead.
L. Zhang saw another shortly after while Haiti saw their original penalty call on Roseline Eloissaint ruled out as the game entered added time - China once again the beneficiary with Les Grenadieres left heartbroken as they come agonisingly close to a historic result.
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Story of the Match:
An early surprise came the way of Haiti's lineup, star of the show against England, Melchie Dumornay, having to make do with a space on the bench due to injury. Meanwhile for China, the Steel Roses opted for a shakeup in between the sticks, Yu Zhu coming in for Xu Huan.
Qingxia Shui's side dominated the early spells of possession but with little success, the front line too passive in the final third with Haiti making use of their physicality to comfortably deal with any searching deliveries.
China persisting with balls into the box, the first chance at goal fell the way of Jiahui Lou. Great work from Li Mengwen towards the byline to pick out the cross found the forward who acrobatically made contact with the ball but ultimately lacked any pace on the effort to be easily dealt with by Kerly Théus.
Haiti continued to hold firm in their quest for a surprise victory but not before having to deal with a dangerous corner routine from the opposition. Sharp from Wang Shanshan saw the defender weave away from her marker, popping up the back post in space but could only divert her header wide.
If the Steel Roses were to continue their ascent on the Haiti goal, however, they would have to do so a player down as the match approached the half-hour mark. A rash challenge from Rui Zhang saw the midfielder go in high on Sherly Jeudy with no attempt to play the ball, leaving Les Grenadieres midfielder on the deck in some pain.
An initial yellow card was given by Marta Huerta de Aza before being directed to the VAR monitors, the referee wasting little time to brandish the red on review, her decision met with a large chorus of boos from the crowd in Adelaide.
Beginning to make the most of their one-player advantage, Nicolas Delépine's side established a foothold in the first-half's closing chapter while looking more composed with their first significant spells of possession.
A searching ball from deep by Kethna Louis fortuitously took a deflection of the referee to ignite the Haiti attack, Nerilla Mondesir slipped through on goal with the captain making no mistake to slide the ball past the keeper from close range.
A dream moment for the nation was soon shattered by a stark reality, the offside flag coming to the Steel Roses mercy with the forward too eager in breaking through the backline.
The arrival of Dumornay for the second half of proceedings only added to China's woes as her side stamped their authority onto the affair. A deep free-kick on the far side in by Jeudy found Louis, the defender slicing at the shot under pressure before falling into the path of the much-awaited substitute.
Dumornay rifled a shot from close range down the throat of Zhu, a superb reaction save from the shot-stopper to tip the ball up and behind and more importantly, keep the scores level.
With the tides certainly turned, Haiti continued to force the issue as they pushed up high in numbers. Smart work from Louis Batcheba saw the winger win the ball inside the opposition box before whizzing a low ball to the back stick, China doing enough to clear their lines with a white shirt in space awaiting an almost-certain goal.
Nevertheless, for all their chances, Haiti failed to conjure up the all-important goal, meanwhile China were not going to go down without a fight. Red shirts began to pour forward with the deadlock yet to be broken, a poinpoint ball out wide to L. Zhang caused all sorts of bother.
The winger bursted into space down the right-hand side before drifting into the area, quick feet from the 22-year-old getting the better of Mathurin.
The defender was aggrieved to have brought down L. Zhang only for the appeals to be drowned out instantly with an offside call. VAR, however, took centre stage for the second time, the original offside call ruled incorrect, the impending penalty decision seemingly inevitable.
Up stepped Wang Shuang, the nation's superstar confidently rolling the ball into the bottom-left corner to send her squad and large portions of the crowd into jubilant celebrations. Relief for China coming as a hammer blow to their opponents.
The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup winners wasted little time in capitalising on their lead, another massive penalty shout through L. Zhang occurring a mere five minutes later.
A clumsy challenge from Louis saw the centre half go through the back of her opponent, a VAR check this time round sticking with the on-field call of no penalty. A big let-off for Les Grenadieres.
Such drama would ensue into the final moments of the encounter, another penalty appeal this time falling the way of Haiti. Chen Qiaozhu was ruled to have gone through the back of Eloissaint in an attempt to head the ball clear.
An initial call for a penalty was once again referred to the monitor, this time the referee going against her original decision to save China's blushes.
A late opportunity for Mondesir saw the forward go narrowly close to the equaliser, a sharp turn to get away from her defender still left her with a lot to do, opting to go for the far post from a tight angle, her effort sailing narrowly wide.
Another positive showing from Haiti at times lacked that clinical edge with another 1-0 defeat while China battle it out against England in their final group outing in hopes of pipping Denmark to a knockout spot.
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Player of the Match - Linyan Zhang
With chances few and far between for China following R. Zhang's dismissal, a moment of magic from Linyan Zhang paved the way for a crucial three points for her nation.
Determination combined with fancy footwork proved fruitful as she was brought down by Mathurin, while forcing the issue once again after going down in the area under Louis' challenge.
While it was not a vintage performance from the Steel Roses, a hard-working showing from Zhang and co. was ultimately enough to secure victory.