China announced on Sunday the launch of a multi-city campaign to “promote marriage and childbearing at appropriate ages” after the country recorded its first population decline in more than half a century.
The Family Planning Association, which is under the auspices of the Chinese central government, has also stipulated among its main tasks “encouraging parents to share the responsibilities of education” and ending “outdated customs” such as the high price of dowries. marriages, a practice that prevails in rural areas, according to a plan published by the official newspaper Global Times.
The 20 Chinese cities covered by the campaign must “adopt innovative measures to create an environment conducive to motherhood,” said the president of the association, Yao Ying, quoted by the newspaper.
“With economic and social development, the concept of marriage among China’s younger generations has undergone transformations,” demographer He Yafu was quoted as saying by the newspaper. He added that “society needs to orient young people more to the concept of marriage and procreation and encourage young people to get married and have children.”
Cities such as Chengdu (southwest) or Zhengzhou (center) have announced that they will accept marriage registrations on May 20, Valentine’s Day in China, despite the fact that the date falls on a Saturday.
In 2022, China lost about 850,000 people in 2022, a count that excludes the Macao and Hong Kong special administrative regions and foreign residents, according to official data.
China thus ended last year with 1,411.75 million inhabitants, having registered 9.56 million births and 10.41 million deaths.
At the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in 2022, the ruling party stressed that the country needs a system that “increases birth rates and reduces the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, schooling, and raising children.” .
Since abandoning its one-child policy in 2016, China has tried to encourage families to have a second or even a third child, but with little success.
The higher cost of living, particularly with children’s health and education, and a change in cultural attitudes toward smaller families are among the reasons cited for the decline in births.
China was overtaken by India last month as the world’s most populous nation, according to UN projections.
Source: TSF
