No marriage, no kids is the new mantra for China; a shrinking number of births is now the biggest worry of Xi Jinping’s government.:

Read, Digital Desk : Most debates concerning China’s role in global politics have been focused on economic competition with the US, tensions over Taiwan or balance of power, yet behind the scenes the world’s largest nation is facing the most serious challenge possible for its economy, society and political system in the coming decades- China’s rapidly dwindling rates of marriage and births.

For nearly a decade now, the idea of “no marriage, no kids” has gained momentum across China. Data reveals that the number of marriages in China registered in the first quarter of this year, hit a ten-year low. During this period, barely 1.7 million marriages were solemnized. Compared to 2017, the numbers have nearly halved.

Government encouraging people to marry and have kids

So worried has the Chinese government become about declining fertility rates that people are being encouraged to marry and have children on all possible fronts. Just last year, a Chinese firm Shantian Chemical Group, had a notice pasted within its employees aged 28- 58, stipulating that if not married by September 2025, they will be fired and further stated that non-marriage may even be construed as contrary to government policies. Special courses on marriage counseling, matchmaking and family life are being offered at various universities and social media is being strictly monitored to discourage anti-marriage sentiments or to avoid male-female conflict.

Despite subsidies, holidays and financial support, the problem persists

To encourage people to marry and have children, the Chinese government has implemented various incentives schemes. For example, people can now register marriage anywhere within the country, there’s an annual subsidy of 3,600 yuan, or about 50,000 rupees per child aged up to three, childbirths are covered by medical insurance and even the laws related to divorce have been changed and taxes on contraceptive products have been raised with the hope of increasing the number of families.

Despite all this, a large chunk of youth are not ready to tie the knot or have kids

A rise in responsibilities for women has turned out to be the main reason

However, an overwhelming number of experts believe that the fundamental reason behind the declining numbers of marriage and births are social and familial expectations from women. Even today, China is a traditional country where household chores and care of children is largely considered to be the responsibility of women. The burden of carrying the two responsibilities has made women rethink marriage and family, especially the young educated and financially independent ones of today.

Most of the women believe that raising a child becomes one of the biggest career barriers they face as their employment and promotion prospects often remain stunted after pregnancy and childbirth.

Disadvantages of the One-Child Policy

To trace the root cause of China’s present situation, one must go back to 1980 when the country introduced the ‘One-Child Policy’ to curb population growth, restricting families to just one offspring. Those violating the policy faced punishment in various forms and although it successfully managed population control, it also brought about unintended negative long-term consequences. The population started aging, the number of working individuals began to fall and the count of elderly citizens started to rise. Another side effect of the policy is the growing sex ratio imbalance, in the absence of preferences for women in traditional China, males significantly outnumber women in every province.

A dwindling working population is increasing economic worries

The falling rates of births are directly impacting China’s economy by reducing the number of working people, which is ultimately going to effect production, industry, tax collection, economic growth and more. Experts suggest that in China it costs around 538,000 yuan, which is approximately 7.6 million rupees to raise a child till the age of 18. The skyrocketing prices of housing, education and healthcare are a major deterrent for the youth from tying the knot and having children.