🔆Current Context: Analysis of declining marriage rates in China, its link to population decline, and the government's attempts to address the demographic crisis. Declining Marriages: ✅Statistics: 6.1 million couples registered in 2024 (lowest since 1986), 20.3% drop from 2023. ✅Reasons: Rising cost of living, urban unemployment, 44% urban women not wanting marriage. ✅Impact: Compounds population decline, affecting economic future and stability. Population Decline: ✅Trend: Consistent decline in recent years, deaths exceeding births in 2022. ✅One-Child Policy: Primary reason, introduced in 1980s. ✅Policy Reversal: Two-child (2016) and three-child (2021) policies failed to reverse trend. ✅Unbalanced Sex Ratio: Desire for male child led to imbalance. ✅Ageing Population: Working-age (19-59) decline, 22% population above 60 (potentially 50% by 2050). ✅Pension Pressure: Pension fund may run out by 2035, retirement age increased, temporary solution. ✅Increased Demand: Caregiving, healthcare, kindergarten closures. ✅Economic Impact: Direct impact on economic future and stability. 📍Government Response: ✅Financial Support: Incentives fail to counter high cost of raising a child. ✅Top-Down Approach: Policies and diktats, without addressing social realities. ✅Xi's Speech: Calls for "new culture of marriage and childbearing," reflects gap between party and society. ✅Control & Command: CPC still attempts to control society, believes it "knows best." ✅Safeguarding Power: Policies seen as prioritizing party power over societal needs. Possible Questions: ✅Prelims: Which of the following is/are a reason(s) for the declining marriage rates in China, as mentioned in the article? Rising cost of living. Urban unemployment. Successful implementation of the three-child policy. (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 ✅Mains: "China's demographic challenges, stemming from its past population policies and evolving social realities, pose a significant threat to its future economic and social stability." Discuss this statement, analyzing the factors contributing to the declining marriage and birth rates in China and evaluating the effectiveness of the government's responses.