Prosecutors found that 168 women seeking positions at 16 companies in Nantong, a city in the eastern province of Jiangsu, had been tested illegally as part of their pre-employment physical check, the state-run Procuratorial Daily reported on Monday. The case highlights a contradiction at the heart of the Chinese economy: While the country is trying to boost record-low birth rates, some companies are reluctant to hire pregnant workers.
Demographic crisis China’s population has shrunk for two years in a row and its birth rate in 2023 was the lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. In 2022, China was surpassed by India as the world’s most populous country. The demographic crisis is a threat to the world’s second-largest economy — and has deepened in recent years despite authorities’ efforts to reverse the trend following decades of restrictive birth policies.