China has introduced major changes to how property is divided in divorce, marking one of the most significant shifts to its family law in years.
The Supreme People’s Court has amended the Marriage and Family section of the Civil Code, moving away from the long-standing practice of splitting marital property evenly.
Instead, assets are now awarded based on who actually paid for them or can prove financial contribution. Property given by parents or owned before marriage stays with the original owner.
This means a spouse won’t automatically receive half of shared assets unless they can show they contributed to buying them.
Non-financial contributions, such as stay-at-home childcare and household work, no longer carry the same legal weight they once did.
Officials say the previous 50/50 rule sometimes encouraged “divorce for profit,” especially in cases where one partner had significantly higher earnings or assets.
By tightening the rules and reinforcing the 30-day cooling-off period required for mutual-consent divorces, the government hopes to reduce impulsive separations.
Early figures from the first quarter of 2025 show divorce filings down by about 24 percent compared to the same period last year.
Authorities expect the divorce rate to settle between 1.8 and 2.0 divorces per 1,000 people by 2027.
The change forms part of China’s fight to curb reducing population and low birth rates.
