Dhaka, Feb. 16 -- The number of new marriages recorded in China fell to a record low last year, despite sweeping government efforts to encourage young people to tie the knot and have babies to halt demographic decline in the world's second-largest economy.Some 6.1 million couples registered their marriages in 2024, a plunge of 20.5% from the previous year, according to data released Saturday by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. It marks a record low since the ministry started releasing the statistics in 1986.Plummeting marriages - and births - pose a severe challenge to Beijing, as it grapples with the pressure of a shrinking workforce and rapidly aging population on the country's slowing economy.The sharp drop in the number of marriages...