Young people in China aren’t spending on romance. That’s a problem
中国年轻人不愿为浪漫买单，这是个问题
During China's go-go years, young couples holding enormous bouquets of roses were a familiar sight during the Qixi Festival, an ancient holiday celebrating love and loyalty.
在我国经济高速发展的那些年，七夕节期间，手捧巨大花束的年轻情侣们是一道熟悉的风景，七夕节是一个庆祝爱情和忠诚的古老节日。
People would flock to social media to show off brand-new iPhones and Louis Vuitton handbags gifted by their partners, as well as photos of dinners at fancy restaurants, during the Chinese version of Valentine's Day, which typically falls in July or August each year.
在我国情人节（通常在每年七月或八月）期间，人们会涌向社交媒体，炫耀伴侣赠送的全新iPhone和路易威登包包，以及豪华餐厅的晚餐照片。
That was when China's economic growth was the envy of the world. This year's festival was on Saturday, and it was a very different story. People went online to complain about the lack of gift giving and festive spirit, citing a sluggish economy and tough job market.
那时，我国的经济增长让全世界羡慕不已。但今年的七夕节在周六，情况却大不相同。人们上网抱怨礼物和节日气氛的缺失，归咎于经济疲软和就业市场艰难。
The hashtag "consumption plummets on Chinese Valentine's Day. Are young people unwilling to pay the love tax?" became the No 1 trending topic on the Weibo platform on Saturday, drawing 200 million views. "The Qixi Festival is not as robust as previous years. It feels almost desolate," one user wrote.
周六，微博平台上的热门话题“七夕节消费暴跌，年轻人不愿为爱买单？”成为热搜第一，吸引了2亿次浏览。一位网友写道：“今年的七夕节没有往年那么热闹，感觉有些冷清。”
Owners of some flower shops took to Xiaohongshu, another popular platform, to bemoan the lack of customers, posting images of unsold roses lining their stores. Other posts recalled forlornly that couples used to have money to spend when the world's second largest economy was doing well.
一些花店老板在另一个热门平台小红书上哀叹顾客稀少，并发布照片展示店内堆积如山的未售出的玫瑰。其他帖子则回忆起当世界第二大经济体繁荣发展时，情侣们曾有足够的钱可供挥霍。
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that young people, who used to be big spenders during Qixi, are struggling to find jobs.
新加坡国立大学李光耀公共政策学院副教授 Alfred Wu 表示，七夕节期间曾是消费主力的年轻人，如今正在为找工作而挣扎。
"I think the overall sentiment is very bad and consumers are very conservative," he said, adding that the negative sentiment has become "the overall pattern" and "not just one festival."
“我认为整体情绪非常糟糕，消费者非常保守，”他说，并补充说这种负面情绪已成为“总体趋势”，而“不仅仅是一个节日”。
The anecdotal drop in spending appears to align with the "weak-consumption trend witnessed over the past two years," said market strategist Yeap Jun Rong from trading provider IG, adding that China's consumer confidence is "hovering around its record low."
交易商 IG 的市场策略师 Yeap Jun Rong 表示，消费下降的个例似乎与“过去两年观察到的消费疲软趋势”相吻合，并补充说我国消费者信心“徘徊在创纪录的低点”。
How China's lovers behave is an issue for global businesses — and the government in Beijing. A shrinking population is likely to be a drag on economic growth. In the first half of 2024, just 3.43 million couples got married, half the number recorded for the same period 10 years ago, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
恋人的行为对全球企业和政府来说都是一个问题。人口减少可能会对经济增长造成拖累。据民政部数据显示，2024年上半年，仅有343万对新人结婚，是10年前同期的一半。
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