China has been the world's top cotton producer for more than 20 years. CIRAD conducted surveys in Hebei and Jiangsu provinces, in collaboration with its Chinese partners, to assess smallholder cotton production patterns. Structurally, China is still a cotton importer. The adoption of genetically modified cotton varieties has not altered this situation because of the tiny size of farms. Chinese family agriculture is highly resilient due to diversification of farm family income sources, and labour reorganization, with women taking on a key role-this flexible setting should enable China to maintain its top world cotton production ranking.