Chinese university announces first marriage-related degree course

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Civil Affairs University announced a new undergraduate marriage program to develop marriage-related industries and culture, drawing scorn of social media users who questioned the need for such a course as marriage rates decline.

With the program due to start in September, the Beijing-based institution aims to "cultivate professionals to develop marriage related industries and culture", state media reported this week.

Policymakers are struggling to reverse the fall in new births, which are closely linked to marriage rates, after China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023.

Marriage is seen as a prerequisite for having children due to widespread policies, including one that requires parents to present a marriage certificate to register the baby and receive benefits. Single women and LGBTQ couples are not entitled to the same rights.

Called Marriage Services and Management, the new degree programme will focus on the development of the marriage industry, "aiming to highlight China's positive marriage and family culture to students and the public and advancing reform of China's marriage customs", the Global Times said.

The university will enrol 70 undergraduates from 12 provinces this year to field sectors including "family counselling, high-end wedding planning and the development of matchmaking products."

Some users on China's social media platform Weibo ridiculed the announcement with one writing "It's time to start a state owned marriage agency."

Others questioned the need for such a degree. "This industry is not just a sunset, it's doomsday," one wrote, while another commented that "Learning this major is really unemployment after graduation."

While the number of new marriages in China jumped 12.4% in 2023 from a year earlier, reversing a downtrend that has lasted for almost a decade, demographers warn that this was more due to delayed nuptials following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many young people are opting to stay single or put off getting married due to poor job prospects and chronically low consumer confidence as growth in the world's second largest economy slows.

(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)