However, population experts warn that fundamental livelihood issues such as income and employment, as well as shifting attitudes toward marriage and family, will continue to pose major challenges.
“It used to be that marriage and childbearing took very important, central roles in China’s society. Now, that importance is seeing a decline,” said Mu Zheng, deputy director of the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Family and Population Research.
“They have many (other) things on their checklists to define what is fulfilling and achieving success in adult life.”
DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURES MOUNT
These shifting views are a growing concern for authorities, as marriage and childbearing remain closely intertwined in China.
Like many nations, China is grappling with a worsening demographic crisis: a rapidly ageing population and record-low fertility.
The country’s birth rate fell to a new low of 5.63 per 1,000 people last year. Its population also shrank by 3.39 million to 1.4 billion, the fourth consecutive year of decline.
At the same time, a growing number of elderly citizens are left with little family support, increasing reliance on state pensions.
These demographic changes add further pressure on the world’s second-largest economy, which is already grappling with slowing growth and weak domestic consumption.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-marriage-birth-rate-population-two-sessions-6002086
