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Civil Code Amendments
In 2024, China implemented extensive revisions to its Civil Code, focusing primarily on marriage, family, and inheritance laws. These changes address shifts in social structure, particularly the rising divorce rate and the aging population. According to the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, the divorce rate in Beijing reached 19.3% in 2023, setting a record high, with Shanghai’s divorce rate increasing to 22.7%. In response to these trends, the new Civil Code adjusted divorce procedures, allowing either party to withdraw the divorce application at any time during the 30-day cooling-off period.
Data from the Guangzhou Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau indicates that in the first three months after the new law’s implementation, the rate of withdrawal of divorce applications in Guangzhou increased by 17%. Nationwide statistics for the first quarter of 2024 also show that the overall divorce rate decreased by 2.1% compared to the same period in 2023. The aging population in China is becoming increasingly severe, with the National Bureau of Statistics estimating that by 2024, individuals aged 65 and over will make up 15.5% of the total population. The new laws provide greater protection for the elderly in estate distribution, particularly in cases of statutory inheritance without a will, where the inheritance rights of elderly parents are given priority.
According to statistics from the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, in the first quarter of 2024, the number of inheritance cases involving the elderly in Shenzhen decreased by 11%, indicating the impact of the new law on internal family property distribution. Nationwide data shows that real estate transaction disputes resulting from adjustments to inheritance laws decreased by 12.5% in the first half of 2024.
Education Law Changes
In 2024, China’s Education Law underwent significant revisions, primarily focusing on equity in compulsory education and improving the quality of higher education. In compulsory education, the imbalance in resource allocation has long been a prominent issue. According to data from the Ministry of Education, in 2023, the dropout rate in rural compulsory education was 4.6%, while in urban areas, the dropout rate was only 1.2%. To narrow this gap, the new Education Law mandates that governments at all levels further increase financial support for schools in rural and remote areas. In the first half of 2024, central government investment in rural compulsory education increased by 15% compared to the same period the previous year.
Guizhou Province, one of the pilot provinces, saw its rural dropout rate decrease by 1.8 percentage points to 2.8%, a direct result of increased educational investment. Jiangxi Province also reported that by increasing financial aid to impoverished families, its rural dropout rate fell to 3.1% in the first half of 2024.
In higher education, the employment pressure on Chinese university graduates is increasing. Data from 2023 shows that the employment rate for university graduates nationwide fell to 82%, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the previous year. To address this challenge, the new Education Law requires all universities to strengthen cooperation with enterprises, promoting industry-academia-research integration to enhance graduates’ employability. Ministry of Education data shows that by the first quarter of 2024, over 60% of universities nationwide had signed cooperation agreements with enterprises, covering internships, research projects, job training, and more.
For example, Tsinghua University signed 10 cooperation agreements with major companies such as Huawei and Alibaba in the first quarter of 2024, directly providing over 3,000 internship and employment opportunities for graduates. Peking University also reported that its collaboration with Tencent covers more than 50% of its computer science students. The “double reduction” policy, aimed at reducing students’ homework burdens and off-campus training, remains a key focus of the 2024 Education Law. Since the policy’s implementation, the number of off-campus training institutions has decreased significantly. According to the Ministry of Education, in the first half of 2024, the number of off-campus training institutions nationwide decreased by 52% compared to 2023.
In Shanghai, for example, the number of off-campus training institutions in the first half of 2024 decreased by 60%, from more than 3,000 in 2023 to just over 1,200. This reduction not only alleviated students’ extracurricular burdens but also led to more efficient use of educational resources within schools. Beijing also reported that after implementing the “double reduction” policy, students’ extracurricular homework time decreased by an average of 1.5 hours, reducing overall academic pressure and creating a healthier and more harmonious educational environment.
Antitrust Legislation
In 2024, China comprehensively upgraded its antitrust legislation, particularly in the digital economy sector. In recent years, the growing dominance of internet giants has prompted the government to intensify its regulatory efforts to maintain fair market competition. According to data from Economic Information Daily, in 2023, China’s top ten internet companies held a combined market share of 77%, a highly concentrated market structure that triggered a strong government response. The new antitrust law imposed strict scrutiny and intervention on these giants’ merger and acquisition activities.
Alibaba’s planned acquisition of a small fintech company was halted by market regulators in 2024, as the deal was seen as potentially further consolidating Alibaba’s dominance in the fintech sector. According to data from the State Administration for Market Regulation, since the new law took effect, eight merger and acquisition cases involving internet giants have been reviewed and blocked, covering industries such as e-commerce, social media, and fintech.
In the first quarter of 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation imposed a fine of 3 billion yuan on Tencent for abusing its market dominance, the largest antitrust fine in China to date. In the same quarter, Alibaba was fined 1.8 billion yuan for failing to truthfully report the acquisition of a subsidiary. Across the country, market regulators launched 34 antitrust investigations, targeting internet giants and other large enterprises with market dominance. These investigations not only involved e-commerce and social media but also covered emerging sectors such as fintech and cloud computing. For example, several of Alibaba’s planned acquisitions in early 2024 were suspended due to concerns that these deals could further weaken market competition.
In the first quarter of 2024, the market share of small and medium-sized enterprises in internet services and fintech increased by 5%. During this period, the user base of small and medium-sized e-commerce platforms grew by 8%, as the slowing expansion of large enterprises provided more opportunities for SMEs to enter the market and establish a foothold.
Pinduoduo, a relatively young e-commerce platform, benefited from antitrust protections, with its market share growing by 3 percentage points in 2024, reaching a user base of 700 million, a year-on-year increase of 12%. This growth reflects the effectiveness of China’s antitrust legislation and the government’s commitment to maintaining fair market competition through legislative means. Compared to 2019, the market share of SMEs in relevant sectors increased by 9.4% in 2024, with annual transaction volume on small e-commerce platforms growing by 15% year-on-year.
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