This past week, thousands of delegates from all walks of life gathered for the country’s annual legislative sessions. Heated discussions erupted over a range of pivotal issues, from the use of AI tools like DeepSeek and declining marriage rates to workplace overtime and the mental health crisis among teenagers.

Among these proposals, some—such as the push to end the 30-day cooling-off period before divorce—have been welcomed, while others, like initiatives to boast marriage and birth rates by lowering the legal marriage age, have come under intense scrutiny. Here are some of the most high-profile and controversial proposals from this year’s Two Sessions.

Technology

AI took center stage at this year’s meetings. To address the estimated shortfall of 4 million professionals in China’s AI sector by 2030, National People’s Congress (NPC) delegate Liu Qingfeng proposed incorporating AI skills into the school curriculum, including increasing the weight of open-book exams to 30 percent to assess children’s innovative abilities in using AI tools.

Meanwhile, delegate and fiction writer Mai Jia expressed concerns over the potential threats that AI tools bring to writing. He acknowledged AI’s ability to foster creativity and rapidly generate content but also suggested the introduction of specific legislation to regulate copyrights for AI-generated works. Mai emphasized that the unique essence of creative works must remain human-made and stressed the urgent need to protect human creativity.

The misuse of AI has also fueled the spread of misinformation and online scams in recent years. Lei Jun, delegate and founder of smartphone maker Xiaomi Group, called for stricter governance over AI-powered face swapping and voice imitation. Another Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) member Gan Huatian suggested implementing stricter data screening and review mechanism, along with using blockchain to ensure data traceability and immutability. This approach would help trace the origins of AI-generated false information.

Despite the rapid advancement on the tech front, concerns over internet addiction among young children still continue to grow. Delegate and retired basketball star Yao Ming proposed a 24-hour screen-free day each semester for children to encourage more focus on reading, exercise, and connecting with nature. CPPCC member Hong Mingji went a step further, calling for a ban on smartphone use for children under 15 and encouraged teachers not to assign homework via mobile devices to “ensure children’s healthy and happy development.”

Marriage and family

In 2024, marriage registrations in China dropped to just over 6.1 million pairs, marking the lowest level in the past 45 years. In response, many delegates proposed ideas to revitalize marriage and birth rates. Among them, CPPCC member Jiang Shengnan reiterated her long-standing call to end the 30-day cooling-off period before divorce, a provision in the Civil Code enacted in 2021.

Jiang first proposed the idea in 2020 and argued that the requirement is “forcing the vast majority to bear the cost of the marriage problems of a very small minority,” which instead leads to an increase in potential domestic violence during the cooling-off period. The renowned screenwriter also cited the statistics from National Women’s Federation, noting that over 60 percent of domestic abuse victims faced escalated violence during the period, some with fatal consequences.

A more controversial proposal came from Chen Songxi, who advocated lowering the legal marriage age to 18 and eliminating the current limit of three children per family. With the population declining for three consecutive years, Chen pointed out that the decreasing birth rate would intensify the aging population and shrink the labor force. However, netizens criticized the proposal for neglecting the fact that many 18-year-olds are still in high school. “Are they just going to take their baby to college?” questioned a user on the microblogging platform Weibo.

Bai Wenhui, a CPPCC member, instead, suggested addressing the problem through extending paternity leave to under 30 days to alleviate financial pressure on young couples. While delegate Li Chengxia suggested that both spouses’ employers should share the costs of paid family leave and allow couples to split the leave days to promote workplace gender equality. CPPCC member Wu Haiying encouraged employers to hold more recruitment events and training for full-time mothers, creating “mom positions” in workshops, production lines, and management roles to better support their work-family balance.

The issue of bride price, or caili, remained a hot topic at this year’s Two Sessions. Delegate Shi Bingqi, addressing the issue for the third time, suggested capping bride prices at less than twice the local per capita annual income, around 50,000 yuan in his home village in Hebei province, for example. However, Jiang Shengnan argued that the real issue lies in the unequal distribution of land welfare for rural women. She criticized the focus on women demanding high bride prices, noting that the practice primarily compensates the bride’s parents for financial disparities favoring men in many rural areas.

Education

With another record year of university graduates and an increasingly competitive job market, many delegates have put forward education proposals to address both recent and long-standing challenges.

Delegate Zhang Gaiping proposed shortening pre-college education from the current 12 years—implemented since the 1980s—to 10 or even 9 years. “The current educational system places excessive burdens on students, stifles creativity, and relies on outdated knowledge,” he said, calling shorter elementary and high school education a global trend and citing Germany and Singapore as examples. Similarly, NPC representative Zhang Xuewu advocated for a 10-year basic education plan and the removal of the high school entrance examination, allowing all students to attend high schools and better prepare for the college or vocational training.

Other proposals are less ambitious: NPC member Qi Xiumin called for regulations on the booming college application consulting industry; Wu Renbiao, deputy president of Civil Aviation University of China, suggested moving the graduate school entrance exam from December to September, allowing those who fail more time to job hunt during the fall semester’s peak recruitment season.

This year, several proposals aimed to ease the burden on teachers, particularly by increasing pay—especially homeroom teacher allowances—improving policies, and prioritizing their mental and physical well-being. NPC representative Liu Xiya noted that homeroom teachers always shoulder greater responsibilities, from monitoring students’ health and safety to mediating with parents, yet their allowances remain unregulated or underpaid.

Work life balance

Overworking has long been a concern for many Chinese workers, especially with the pervasive 996 culture in private enterprises. This year, delegates are calling for a 44-hour workweek, extra pay for online overtime, and an increase in the individual income tax threshold from 60,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per year to ease the burden on middle-income earners.

NPC member Meng Yuan proposed adding provisions to the Labor Law and other relevant regulations to prohibit discrimination against candidates over 35, who are often laid off in favor of younger, lower-paid workers. In response to the proposal on Weibo, one netizen commented: “When you’re young, they say you lack work experience; when you’re middle-aged with experience, they say people over 35 are too old to find a job; and elderly people are advised not to retire early and should keep working. This is the strange reality of employment!“

Other proposals focused on regulating holidays, such as extending the Chinese New Year holiday from four to nine days without make-up workdays. One popular suggestion came from NPC representative Pang Yonghui, who proposed a one- or two-week “spring holiday” after the Labor Day holiday in May, as well as a similar “autumn holiday,” to provide more travel options, especially for families, and reduce the overcrowding at tourist attractions.

Health

At a press conference on March 9, Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, announced that the average life expectancy of Chinese people in 2024 had risen to 79 years old. To address some of the most pressing health risks, namely chronic non-infectious diseases, the health authority has launched a three-year campaign of “weight management” to promote healthy lifestyles.

Many proposals are more targeted and controversial than the weight loss plan. NPC member Hu Xiaoqing, a doctor from Jiangxi, proposed allowing single women to freeze their eggs—a practice currently reserved to married women or those with leukemia or breast cancer whose fertility would be harmed by the treatment. She also suggested including the cost in medical insurance to ease the financial burden.

Another heatedly debated proposal came from representative Song Zhaopu, who emphasized the non-profit nature of hospitals and opposed linking medical professionals’ salaries to business revenue. Supporters believed this would allow doctors to focus more on treatment, improve patient experiences, and relieve concerns about excessive medical procedures. However, many others pointed out that hospitals need funds to sustain themselves and questioned the proposal’s impact on the already overwhelmed healthcare system.