"If Men Over 30 Get Married, Cash Is Given to Matchmakers"…China's Drastic Measure

Chinese Youth Avoiding Marriage and Childbirth... Rural Decline Deepens
Compensation for Matchmakers Who Successfully Marry Young Men and Women
"There Are Limits to Simple Cash Compensation," Analysts Say

As the phenomenon of avoiding marriage and childbirth becomes more visible in China, a "drastic measure" to marry off rural bachelors has emerged, drawing attention. On the 28th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that "local rural authorities from Guangdong Province to Shanxi Province have decided to introduce women to men over 30 years old, and if the two get married in the village, the matchmaker will be rewarded with 600 to 1000 yuan (approximately 110,000 to 190,000 KRW)."

Notably, the Xiangjiazhuang Village Committee in Shanxi Province has decided to pay 1000 yuan to matchmakers who successfully arrange marriages starting from the 1st of this month. It is reported that about 40 unmarried men aged 25 to 40 live in this village, which consists of approximately 270 households.

In 2022, China's population declined for the first time in 60 years, ceding its position as the world's most populous country to India. However, low birth rates continue as young people still avoid marriage. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on the 17th, the number of births at the end of 2023 was 9.02 million, falling below 10 million for the second consecutive year. The birth rate hit a record low of 6.39%.

In response, Chinese authorities are rolling out various measures. These include cash incentives such as childbirth subsidies, childcare allowances, and preferential benefits for home purchases. This policy is in the same vein, reflecting China's chronic gender imbalance problem. As of 2021, the rural gender ratio was 108 men to 100 women, which is more severe than in urban areas.

Yi Fuxian, a population expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed out, "China's 'male surplus' problem is prominent in rural areas where son preference is strong and women leave to find jobs in cities." However, Yi told SCMP, "Simple cash rewards cannot solve the bachelor crisis in rural areas," adding, "High youth unemployment also affects low marriage rates. Young men naturally cannot afford to marry because they lack the means to support a family."

Yang Si, a person in their 20s who moved to Guangzhou, also told SCMP, "Despite current marriage and childbirth promotion policies, young women from rural areas seem uninterested in marriage," adding, "I want to live in a wealthy and developed area. Rural young men cannot provide the lifestyle I desire."

SCMP analyzed, "Women of Generation Z born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s in China show significantly lower willingness to marry compared to their male peers," and "China's Generation Z has 18.27 million more men than women, representing the largest gender imbalance across all age groups."