China is set to launch a new pilot program across 20 cities that is apparently meant to usher in a “new-era” marriage and childbearing culture. The effort is the latest in the country’s goal of increasing the plummeting birth rate, per Reuters.
The initiative is spearheaded by China’s Family Planning Association, a national organization that maintains control over the government’s population and fertility measures. The recent project is meant to encourage young women to marry and have children.
With fertility rates decreasing across China, there has also been a push for single and unmarried women to have their eggs frozen, allowing them to have children at a later date. Teresa Xu filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital for barring her from having her eggs frozen, a possibility previously reserved for married women. This has raised questions about women’s reproductive rights across the country.
The Family Planning Association is attempting to promote marriage, having children at appropriate ages, and to encourage parents to share child-rearing responsibilities. But they are reportedly attempting to lower the prevalence of outdated customs, such as high “bride prices,” per the report.
Demographer He Yafu said that Chinese society “needs to guide young people more on the concept of marriage and childbirth.”
This comes as a number of projects across the country are attempting to motivate people into having children, including free or subsidized education for having a third child, tax incentives, and housing subsidies.
While China had a draconian, one-child policy from 1980 to 2015, the population does not seem to have responded in the way that we initially hoped. India is now on pace to overtake China as the most populous country in the world in the coming decades.
One of the key tripwires in China is gender discrimination, where many women are reluctant to make a move in having children because of the expense of child care and the loss of opportunities to earn a living.
