Chinese government launches “matchmaking” app to boost fertility rate

Jiangxi province in eastern China has just launched a “matchmaking” app to help local single residents find the right match.

Called “Palm Guixi”, the app uses data on local singles to create a “matchmaking” platform.

According to the report of The Guardianthe app is part of a Jiangxi province initiative to increase marriage rates that have fallen nationally over the past decade.

Local governments in other areas of Jiangxi are planning live events to promote social interaction. In Gao’an City, more than 100 young singles attended an event in Ruizhou Fuya park where they could wear traditional costumes, play games and “become close” to each other.

The campaign against the high “priority” was one of the main principles of the Jiangxi pilot. The government recently objected to the custom of the groom-to-be “loading money” on the bride’s family before marriage.

The country’s civil code prohibits “the giving of money or gifts upon marriage”. But in fact, this custom is still popular, especially in rural areas. With an average bride price of 380,000 yuan (VND 1.3 billion), Jiangxi topped the unofficial national ranking of bride prices in 2022.

Meanwhile, many users on the Weibo platform in China oppose the state-supported matchmaking service because it sees people as the “birth machine” of the government.

SCMP There will be about 11.6 million couples getting married in 2022, nearly 700,000 fewer than the previous year. This is significantly lower than the 2013 peak of 23.9 million.

The birth rate, which last year hit a record low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people as the population fell for the first time in 60 years, is expected to continue falling, reflecting this downward trend.

According to Dong Yuzheng, head of the Guangdong Population Development Authority, young people are under increasing pressure in their personal lives and cannot bear the financial burden of marriage, paying to buy home and raise children. Dong asserts that young people nowadays really prefer the freedom of being single to being married.