China is urging colleges and universities to provide "love education" to emphasise positive views on marriage, love, fertility and family, in a bid to boost the country's flagging birth rate.
Beijing has been promoting various measures to try to make having children more attractive to young couples after China posted a second consecutive year of population decline in 2023.
China has the second-biggest population in the world at 1.4 billion, but it is ageing quickly, which will increase the demands on government spending in the future and put pressure on the economy.
College students will be the biggest driver of fertility but they have significantly changed their views on marriage and love, the Jiangsu Xinhua newspaper group said, citing China Population News, an official publication.
"Colleges and universities should assume the responsibility of providing marriage and love education to college students by offering marriage and love education courses," the publication said.
The measures would help create a "healthy and positive marriage and childbearing cultural atmosphere."
The state council, or cabinet, rallied local governments in November to direct resources towards fixing China's population decline and spread respect for childbearing and marriages "at the right age," although demographers said the moves were unlikely to resonate with young Chinese.
Around 57% of college students polled by China Population News said they did not want to fall in love, mainly because they did not know how to allocate time to balance the relationship between study and love, the publication said.
Due to the lack of "systematic and scientific marriage and love education, college students have a vague understanding of emotional relationships."
Universities could focus on teaching junior college students about population and national conditions, new marriage and childbearing concepts, it said.
Senior college students and graduate students could be taught through "case analysis, group discussion on maintaining intimate relationships and communication between the sexes."
The courses would be able to help them "improve their ability to correctly understand marriage and love and manage love relationships."
Kazakhstan is moving forward with the construction of a major transport and logistics hub, the Kolzhat Dry Port, at its border with China, LS.com repo...
The United States has named Afghanistan among the countries that it says have “failed demonstrably” to meet international counternarcotics obligat...
FBI director Kash Patel will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on the Kirk murder case, Epstein records, and his leadership of ...
A truck, a cache of explosives, and a pointed accusation: the case unfolding in Tbilisi has quickly become more than a domestic security matter. It no...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday visited a disputed archaeological site beneath Jerusalem, lending Washington’s support to a settler-le...
China has entered the United Nations’ annual list of the world’s ten most innovative nations for the first time, displacing Germany, Europe’s largest economy, as companies in Beijing ramp up investment in research and development.
A framework deal has been reached between the U.S. and China over the ownership of social media platform TikTok, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said following trade talks in Madrid.
Senior officials from the United States and China are holding talks in Madrid this week, covering trade disputes, export controls, and the future of TikTok’s US operations. The discussions come as both sides navigate a fragile economic relationship defined by rivalry as much as interdependence.
China is set to intensify its recent push in strategic diplomacy and power projection as it hosts its annual security forum this week amidst heightened regional tensions.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
The United States has named Afghanistan among the countries that it says have “failed demonstrably” to meet international counternarcotics obligations over the past year. President Donald Trump’s announcement, delivered to Congress on Monday, also included Bolivia, Burma, Colombia and Venezuela.
FBI director Kash Patel will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on the Kirk murder case, Epstein records, and his leadership of the bureau.
A truck, a cache of explosives, and a pointed accusation: the case unfolding in Tbilisi has quickly become more than a domestic security matter. It now threatens to deepen the cracks in Georgia–Ukraine relations — ties once described as fraternal but increasingly defined by suspicion.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday visited a disputed archaeological site beneath Jerusalem, lending Washington’s support to a settler-led project that critics argue jeopardises prospects for a future Palestinian state.
The European Commission will delay presenting its next Russia sanctions package, European Union officials said on Tuesday, as the bloc searches for a response to the Trump administration's demand that it phase out purchases of Russian oil and gas faster.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment