China’s Civil Affairs University announced a new undergraduate marriage program to develop marriage-related industries and culture, sparking strong opposition from social media users who questioned the need for such a course amid declining marriage rates.
The programme, set to begin in September, aims to “train professionals to develop wedding-related industries and culture”, state media reported this week.
Policymakers are struggling to reverse this situation fall in new birthsChina’s population is projected to decline for a second consecutive year in 2023, closely linked to marriage rates.
Marriage is viewed as a prerequisite for having children due to a wide range of policies, including a policy that requires parents to present a marriage certificate to register the child and receive benefits. Single women and LGBTQ couples do not receive the same rights.
According to the Global Times, the new degree program, called Wedding Service and Management, will focus on developing the wedding industry, with the aim of “highlighting China’s positive marriage and family culture to students and the general public and improving China’s marriage customs.”
The university will admit 70 graduate students from 12 provinces this year in fields such as “family counseling, high-end wedding planning and development of wedding-related products.”
Some users on China’s social media platform Weibo ridiculed the announcement, writing, “It’s time to start a state-owned marriage agency.”
Others questioned the need for such a degree. One wrote, “This industry is not just sunset, it’s doomsday,” while another commented that “learning this subject is literally unemployment after graduation.”
While the number of new marriages in China rose 12.4 percent in 2023 from a year earlier, reversing nearly a decade of decline, demographers warn this was due to delayed weddings following the Covid-19 pandemic.
As growth slows in the world’s second-largest economy, many young people are choosing to remain single or postpone marriage amid poor job prospects and steadily declining consumer confidence.