As thousands of delegates gather in Beijing for the annual meeting of China’s top political advisory body, a proposal to lower the country’s legal marriage age has sparked debate. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which convened on Tuesday as part of the “two sessions,” will consider various proposals aimed at addressing economic and social challenges, including the country’s declining birth rate.
Chen Songxi, an econometrics professor at Peking University and a CPPCC member, has suggested lowering the legal marriage age to 18 from the current 22 for men and 20 for women. His proposal, reported by Financial Times, also includes increasing financial subsidies and medical support for families with children. China’s population has been in decline since 2022, prompting concerns about its long-term economic and social stability.
However, experts and online commentators remain skeptical about the impact of such a change. Demographer Yi Fuxian noted that the current marriage age was introduced in 1980 alongside the one-child policy, but he argued that even lowering it now would have little effect on fertility rates, as societal norms have shifted toward later marriages. With the average age of first marriage in China now close to 30, many believe that financial pressures and the burden of raising children in a competitive society are the real obstacles to increasing birth rates.
While the CPPCC discusses these social issues, economists are focusing on the upcoming session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which begins on Wednesday. Premier Li Qiang is expected to announce China’s economic growth targets, which analysts predict will be set at around 5 percent for the year, despite challenges such as weak domestic demand and rising U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports.
