Why Chinese authorities are asking newlyweds: ‘When’s the baby arriving?'

China: The official told the woman that the government “wants newlyweds to be pregnant within a year”.

A newly-married woman in China was rung up by the local authorities to ask her if she was pregnant. As she shared the experience online, tens of thousands of other commented saying that they had experienced similar calls, Reuters reported. The post was subsequently removed by the authorities.

China: Xi Jinping and Li Qiang are seen. (Reuters)

A user named 'lost shuyushou' described a colleague's experience in which the colleague answered a call from the Nanjing city government's women's health service on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, the report said.

The official told the woman that the government "wants newlyweds to be pregnant within a year and their target is to make a phone call every quarter."

One person who posted in the comment section said she got married in August last year and had since been rung up by her local government twice.

"You are married, why are you still not preparing for pregnancy? Take the time to have a baby," she said she was told by the officials.

China's president Xi Jinping declaring at the Communist party's meeting last week that the country would establish a policy to boost birth rates and improve the country's population development strategy. China has acknowledged its population is on the brink of shrinking.