Using data from various sources, this paper reviews studies on child survival of
female children in China and intervention activities by the Chinese government to
improve this survival. Discrimination against girls has existed for a long time in
China, and the abnormally high sex ratio at birth and excess female child mortality in
the recent years reflect women’s low social status and a relatively deteriorating
survival environment for girls. The discrimination against girls is both prenatal and
postnatal and is manifest in sex-selective abortion of female fetuses leading to a high
sex ratio at birth, and in neglect of and insufficient investment in girls resulting in
excess female child mortality. The paper presents analyses of the levels, trends, and
regional variations in the sex ratio at birth and excess girl child mortality, and
discusses direct and indirect causes of the deteriorating survival environment for girls
as well as its demographic and social implications. Prospects for the future of
improvement in girl child survival in light of actions of the Chinese government are
also discussed.