China could soon have more pets than toddlers. Why that’s a headache for Beijing

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world.

Beijing/Hong Kong CNN —

Married for seven years, Hansen and his wife Momo care for six little ones at their apartment in downtown Beijing.

But they adopt a slightly different parenting routine from your typical mom and dad: They play fetch with them and take them out for daily walks.

These little ones are not their offspring, but “fur babies,” or “mao hai zi,” in Chinese, and the couple loves them so much they refer to them as “our daughters, our sons.”

“They are all part of our family. We are one big family,” said Momo, who gave only her nickname for fear that she may get into trouble with authorities for openly speaking about her choice of lifestyle – one that is at odds with China’s effort to boost birth rates.

China is grappling with a fast-aging population and shrinking labor force after decades of enforcing a one-child policy. The country is also one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child in relative terms, easily beating Australia and France, according to a study from the Beijing-based YuWa Population Research Institute earlier this year.

After ending the one-child policy in 2016 and making yet another major birth policy shift in 2021, the government now wants couples to have three children. But Beijing hasn’t been as successful in driving up births as it was in deterring them.

Many Chinese couples like Hansen, 36, and Momo, 35, are not sold on children. Instead, they’ve become pet parents.

Hansen and Momo's dogs on a stroller in Beijing.

By the end of the year, the number of pets in China’s cities is expected to surpass the number of