The trend of young Chinese people wanting to raise pets instead of having children

Pets are about to outnumber children by more than twice.

According to investment bank Goldman Sachs, by 2030, the number of pets in China will be twice as high as the number of children, as China's young generation still does not want to start families.

The number of urban pets is expected to reach more than 70 million by the end of the decade, while the number of children under 4 years old will fall below 40 million.

China's pet market is showing promising growth. Photo: CNA

Changing demographics, as well as changing attitudes towards pets in China, are driving the emergence of this new sub-sector.

At the Pet Fair Asia trade show in Shanghai, the focus was on pets and meeting their needs. "Many indicators show that the industry is growing at 8-15%," said Edwin Tan, CEO of event management company Globus Events, which organizes Pet Fair Asia.

"The late 2000s, early 2010s is when the pet population in China really started to increase. (It) almost skyrocketed," said Dr. Angie Schultz, a veterinarian at Heal Petcare Healthcare and Rehabilitation Medical Center.

“Many of those pets are quite old now, so services for them are being developed,” added Dr. Schultz, who works at a facility that provides services for senior pets.

There has been a "significant increase in the number of pets being kept" over the years, said Joey Yeo, co-founder and CEO of animal care services company Heal Management Group.

“We are looking at double-digit growth,” he added. “If we break it down into dog and cat numbers, we see 4% annual growth for dog numbers, close to 20% for cat numbers.”

He noted that more and more young, childless couples and young, working singles are becoming pet owners. “We’re talking about 40 to 50 million pets. There’s a lot of potential in terms of opportunity for the pet industry,” he said.

According to investment bank Goldman Sachs, by 2030, the number of pets in China will be twice the number of children. Photo: CNA

No intention of having children

Liu Yinghui and her husband are typical examples of China's growing pet population. The couple married three years ago but have only a pair of cats and have no plans to have children.

For years, China's birth rate has hovered around 1 birth per woman, far below the 2.1 births needed to maintain a stable population. In cities like Shanghai, the birth rate is even lower, hovering around 0.6 births per woman.

"Our generation doesn't want to have children, and pets are really companions. They also perform part of the function that children perform," Ms. Liu said.

"Raising cats is like raising children. You will see things you want to buy for them without thinking about the price. As long as they are good, I will buy them."

Hoai Phuong (according to CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/xu-huong-gioi-tre-trung-quoc-muon-nuoi-thu-cung-thay-vi-sinh-con-post309473.html