SHANGHAI: Victor Li is determined to get married soon, but like many other young Chinese grappling with an uncertain economic outlook, the well-heeled Shanghai entrepreneur isn’t sure he can afford to. “It’s very expensive for us to get married, especially in a big city like Shanghai,” the 32-year-old said, as he took a break from a ticketed networking event for wealthier, top university-educated singles at an upmarket Shanghai jazz bar. “In terms of financial ability, it actually puts a lot of pressure on young people, including me.”As the world’s second biggest economy slows, an increasing number of people are opting to stay single, or delay marriage, due to poor job prospects amid record youth unemployment and chronically low consumer confidence, leading to a record slump in marriage registrations in 2022. Julia Meng, whose company Julia’s Events organised the Shanghai singles event, said an increasing number of people aged 35 and older had effectively “given up” on marriage. Younger Chinese, like event attendee Jack Jiang, say they want to get married, but high housing prices, uncertain job prospects and the general economic situation isn’t helping.

Source: The Star January 18, 2024 11:30 UTC