The youth and relative inexperience of the Dutch squad have been evident throughout the tournament, and it was to their great credit that they managed to raise their game against Zimbabwe on Sunday and take the match right down to the last ball.
But in searing heat at the AIT Ground on Tuesday those fighting qualities were rather less in evidence, and the basic problems - too many deliveries struck straight to fielders and a fatal inability to hit boundaries when batting, and inconsistent length with the ball coupled with indifferent fielding - really showed up against a well-organised and determined Chinese side.
Esther de Lange again won the toss and elected to bat, putting the Chinese into the field during the hottest part of the afternoon. Miranda Veringmeier and Sterre Kalis again began promisingly, but in the sixth over, with the score on 26, Kalis was trapped in front by Li Yingying.
Veringmeier went on to make 26 from 25 deliveries before she was caught by Zhao Ning at deep mid-on off the bowling of Liu Jie, playing much the same shot that had led to her dismissal against Zimbabwe. She does, however, bat in the knowledge that she is one of the few players in the side who is able to hit boundaries - there were three in this innings - and this undoubtedly creates pressure to take more risks.
China's four-woman spin department was now keeping a firm grip on the game, despite bowling a fair number of wides, and although Cher van Slobbe did an excellent job in anchoring the innings there were to be no more boundaries.
The Dutch cause was not helped by three run-outs, all of them when attempting a second run. Van Slobbe's was the last of them, in the 19th over when she had made a 48-ball 25, and the innings closed on 101 for six.
Liu Jie was the most economical bowler for China, her four overs costing just 15 runs, while Li Yingying gave away just one run more.
It seemed like a par score in the circumstances, and when three Chinese wickets fell in the first three overs with just 6 runs on the board, Heather Siegers removing both openers and Lisa Klokgieters having Zhao Ning caught behind, it appeared that it might be a good deal better than that.
The effect of this, however, was to bring Huang to the crease with plenty of overs left, and she and Song Fengfeng proceeded to put together a fourth-wicket stand of 47 at exactly a run a ball, purposefully taking the game away from a Dutch side which proved unable to stem the flow of runs.
It was Kalis who eventually did the trick, trapping Song in front when she had made 21 from 23 deliveries, and when another partnership developed between Huang and Wu Juan, Veringmeier handed the gloves to Babette de Leede and took the ball, a tactic which was successful when she took a smart return catch to remove Wu for 9.
That was to be the Netherlands' last wicket, however, for Chai Yudian now joined her captain and raced to 15 from just six deliveries, while Huang went on to make an unbeaten 54-ball 40 in an almost chanceless innings.
The end came with a wild return and four overthrows when there were eight balls remaining, and China had completed a well-deserved victory.
Both sides already knew that they were destined for the Plate competition, and the Dutch will now play Papua New Guinea in Thursday's early game at AIT, while China will meet hosts Thailand in the later match. The winners of those two semi-finals will meet in the Plate final on Saturday, and it just might be a rematch between the Netherlands and China.