According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, the national marriage registration in 2024 decreased by 20.5% compared to the previous year, marking the largest decline since records began in 1978. Meanwhile, the fertility rate continues to decline. Faced with the ongoing drop in fertility and the increasing aging of the population, the Chinese government, after implementing policies such as fully relaxing the three-child policy and providing fertility subsidies without significant results, has shown signs of lowering the legal marriage age. The "21st Century Business Herald" reported on February 24 that Chen Songxi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, will submit two proposals at the upcoming National Two Sessions (the National People's Congress and the CPPCC annual session) next month, one of which is titled "Suggestions on Relaxing Population Birth Constraints and Building a Marriage and Fertility Incentive System." Chen Songxi's team has put forward several suggestions, including lowering the legal marriage age to increase the birth population base. The legal marriage ages for men and women in China are 22 and 20 years old, respectively. Chen Songxi pointed out that China's legal marriage age is the highest in the world, with the internationally common legal marriage age not exceeding 18, and thus recommends lowering the legal marriage age to 18 to boost the birth population base and unleash fertility potential. He also suggests renaming the "Population and Family Planning Law" to the "Population and Fertility Law" and fully liberalizing childbirth. Facing the increasingly depleted "human resources" that can be exploited, the inability to use sufficient "human materials" to keep the economy booming, and the rising social support costs, they are as anxious as ants on a hot pan, eager to transform into Nüwa, waving willow branches to throw out a large reserve army of industries to continue suppressing wages and delaying the downward trend of average profits. However, ironically, on the same day, the official Chinese media "People's Daily" emphasized that China's demographic dividend has not disappeared and stated that the silver-haired population is vibrant in fields such as the internet. The official mouthpiece of the Chinese government admitted in the article: "Population development shows trend features such as declining birthrate and aging, with the elderly population aged 60 and above accounting for over two-tenths. While moving towards common prosperity, we are also experiencing 'aging before becoming rich,' which is the reality we face." At the same time, they are desperately trying to save their few remaining face and dignity. The article emphasized that population is not the only factor in development dividends; even with a shrinking workforce, policies, technology, capital, and other factors can compensate and hedge against single-sided impacts, and stated that the demographic dividend has not disappeared but has instead opened up space for talent dividends to grow. The article states that in the blink of an eye, a group of elderly people have started short videos, fallen in love with online shopping, and even become internet celebrities and e-commerce entrepreneurs, breaking the boundaries and gaining popularity. 1.7 billion Chinese elderly netizens inject new vitality into the internet, and the demographic dividend still has a continuing effect. The article also claims, "Old age may not necessarily be an obstacle to wealth. Things around us and big data show that the needs of hundreds of millions of 'silver-haired' people for a better life constitute a huge potential market, which can fully become a driving force for economic growth and an opportunity for social development." In fact, it is precisely because young workers are being exploited to the point of breathlessness, their absolute poverty deepening, and their purchasing power shrinking that consumption remains sluggish. To reverse the economic downturn, the Chinese government shamelessly brainwashes the elderly with spiritual opium to drain their pension funds. However, the so-called "silver economy," whose main consumers are retired bourgeoisie, upper middle-class small asset owners, and worker aristocrats, can hardly bolster their reputation with pensions. At the same time, it is well known that the so-called "demographic dividend" relies on the large industrial reserve army in capitalist society constantly suppressing wages to save circulating capital; these elderly retirees, almost losing their labor capacity, are hardly considered a "demographic dividend." Chinese officials first claimed that the demographic dividend had disappeared and urged to encourage childbirth, then hurriedly claimed that the demographic dividend still exists and that the "silver economy" is booming, but only adding to the ridicule.  https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20250224-5923199 https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20250224-5922857
4 Likes
Currently, some young people face difficulties in life and need their parents’ support to get by, and there are also many elderly people who need their children to provide financial support. Zhongxiu believes that taking money from the elderly can extract people’s savings, but in reality, this is just robbing Peter to pay Paul; overall consumption will remain the same. As long as capitalist production exists, the working people’s situation will only further fall into relative and absolute poverty, with demand capable of paying shrinking relatively. This misguided attempt to empty the savings of the working people to increase consumption and sustain capital turnover will only lead to a larger crisis erupting in the future.
3 Likes
The term ‘demographic dividend’ is truly disgusting; it’s clearly treating the working masses as consumables, using their blood, tears, and sweat to create ‘dividends’! China’s Nazis are shameless enough to claim they are a ‘socialist country,’ which is simply shameless!
4 Likes