A Chinese national political advisor has recommended lowering the legal marriage age to 18, Reuters reports.
The aim is to increase fertility amid a shrinking population and "unleash reproductive potential".
Chen Songshi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said he planned to submit a proposal to fully ease restrictions on childbearing in China and create an "incentive system" of marriage and births.
He made the remarks ahead of China's annual parliamentary session next week, where officials are expected to announce measures to offset the country's shrinking population.
The legal marriage age in China is 22 for men and 20 for women - among the highest in the world, compared with most developed countries, where the legal age of marriage is 18.
Chen said the legal marriage age in China should be lowered to 18 "to expand the birth rate base and unleash reproductive potential."
He said it should be in line with international norms.
China's population shrank for a third straight year in 2024, and marriages fell by a fifth - the biggest drop on record, despite government efforts to encourage young couples to marry and have children.
Much of China's demographic decline is the result of its one-child policy, imposed between 1980 and 2015. As of 2021, since then, couples have been allowed to have up to three children.
Chen said China should remove restrictions on the number of children a family can have to meet the "urgent needs of population development in the new era".
However, more and more people are choosing not to have children, dissuaded by the high cost of childcare or a reluctance to marry or end their careers.
The authorities have tried to introduce incentives and measures to encourage births, including extended maternity leave, financial and tax breaks for childbirth, and housing subsidies.
However, China is one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child compared to its GDP per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank reported last year.