China’s Push to Correct ‘Wrong’ Views on Marriage and Childbirth Sparks Backlash
Beijing’s latest effort to encourage marriage and childbirth has drawn a slew of criticism from young Chinese couples who say the real barriers are low pay, unstable jobs, housing costs, and lack of time
A call by China’s top health authority to push back against what it described as “incorrect views on marriage and childbearing” has triggered heavy backlash online, with many young people arguing that falling marriage and birth rates have less to do with attitudes but rather with a worsening economy.
At a Sept. 14 State Council Information Office press conference, National Health Commission director Lei Haichao said authorities would work to create a more fertility-friendly environment while “guiding and resisting” what he described as “not quite correct views on marriage and childbearing.”
The remarks come as China continues to grapple with a steep demographic decline. Official data show that 7.92 million babies were born in 2025, down sharply from the previous year and the lowest annual total since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. China’s population has now declined for four consecutive years, prompting officials to roll out a range of incentives aimed at encouraging marriage and childbirth among younger generations.
RELATED: China’s Birth Rate Hits a New Low, Population Falls by 2 Million
‘Wasn’t that what you told us before?’
The phrase quickly drew ridicule and anger on Chinese social media, particularly from users who recalled the country’s stringent family-planning controls. Introduced around 1980, China’s one-child policy was enforced through measures that included heavy fines, forced contraception, sterilizations, and abortions.
For the best of our weekly content！
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Check your email to complete sign up
The policy contributed to China’s aging population and, combined with a longstanding preference for sons, a significant gender imbalance of more men to women. Children born outside government quotas could also face barriers to household registration and public services.
One commenter wrote, “Were the family-planning slogans back then also an ‘incorrect view of childbearing’? Every one of those slogans sounded more reasonable than this!” Another wrote, “‘Have fewer children and have healthier children; enjoy happiness throughout your life.’ Wasn’t that also something you told us?”
Others focused on the practical obstacles facing young adults. “I work 10 hours a day and only get one day off a week. When would I even have time to date?” wrote one user, while another said, “I have neither money nor time. What am I supposed to use to get married and have children?” Another noted, “If I had money and free time, I would have had children long ago. People can’t even afford to get married.”
Worsening economic pressures
Weibo blogger (a popular social media app in China) Geng Xiangshun argued that authorities were misdiagnosing the problem. “Are young people unwilling to get married and have children because their views on marriage and relationships are ‘incorrect’ and therefore need to be guided?” questioned Geng.
They added, “The fundamental reasons are that they don’t have enough money, cannot find good jobs, have unstable employment and incomes, cannot afford housing, cannot afford to have or raise children, lack social security, and have neither the time nor the energy to raise and care for children.” Meanwhile, another blogger under the handle “Boss Yao Talks Cars” similarly argued that housing prices, education costs, and workplace discrimination against women were more important than attitudes.
The criticism reflects a broader tension in China’s population policy. Beijing has moved from decades of restricting births to actively encouraging them by expanding childcare support, promoting maternity benefits, and reducing some of the direct costs associated with childbirth.
Lei said more than 30 million families have benefited from fertility subsidies introduced last year, while authorities are also expanding nursery and childcare services. Yet the decline has only continued.
From birth limits to birth promotion
China abandoned its one-child policy in 2015, replacing it first with a two-child limit, and then allowing three children per couple in 2021. The policy reversal has created an uncomfortable contrast for many Chinese who grew up under aggressive family-planning campaigns and are now being urged to marry and have more children.
For younger generations, the backlash suggests that government messaging alone may have limited influence over decisions shaped by employment prospects, housing costs, childcare burdens, and expectations surrounding marriage. As one netizen put it, “The real reason young people aren’t marrying or having children is that they have no money and no security.”
Original article
Comments