<p>This article aims to take stock of the situation of girls and women in China thirty years after the Cairo conference, at the very moment the Chinese government is actively taking measures to address the current low fertility rate—but at a time when girls and women are still exposed to gender-based discrimination in various areas. Rather than addressing all of the objectives set out in the Cairo Programme of Action, this article focuses on two specific ones: the fight against “discrimination on the basis of sex that still starts at the earliest stages of life” (chapter 4, part B) and women’s reproductive rights in relation to family planning (chapter 7, parts A and B). It first describes the legal arsenal that has been put in place since the 1990s to protect girls, with the aim of putting an end to sex-selective abortions and excess mortality among infant girls. It then assesses achievements in these two areas in the decades following the Cairo conference. In a second section, we briefly highlight the current demographic situation, showing that China now needs mothers in order to increase the birth rates—alongside a refocusing of social norms on traditional family values, which is encouraged by the government. We then take stock of the new paradigms regarding contraception and abortion that align with the government’s objective to increase fertility, showing that Chinese women now face competing pressures. Finally, we conclude that women may be exposed to increasing social and family pressure to have children and get married, suggesting that there is still a long way to go before they can achieve full autonomy in decisions regarding their reproductive lives in the context of the new birth-friendly policy.</p>