More babies are being born in hospitals across China in the Year of the Dragon, financial news outlet Yicai reported, an increase which could soften the decline in population in 2024 and bring cheer to policymakers. The newspaper cited a hospital in Wuxi, in eastern China, reporting a 20% increase in the number of newborns compared to a year ago, while a hospital in the northwestern Shaanxi province reported a 72% increase in new births compared to 2023. Marriage rates in China are closely tied to birth rates as unmarried mothers are often denied child-raising benefits, and last year, the number of marriage registrations rose for the first time in several years, due to a backlog from the pandemic.