Guangdong recently passed local legislation allowing spouses for the first time to legally inquire about each other’s real estate and vehicle registrations. This new rule, known as the “spousal mutual inquiry system,” has been interpreted by the public as a symbol of the breakdown of marital trust. The regulation will officially take effect on January 1, 2026.
According to official media reports, the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party recently passed amendments to the “Measures for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women’s Rights in Guangdong Province,” which will come into effect on New Year’s Day next year. Article 48 of the new law clearly stipulates that either spouse can inquire about the real estate and vehicle registration status of the other using their identity card and marriage certificate.
This new “spousal mutual inquiry system” makes Guangdong the first province in mainland China to open up mutual financial disclosure in marriage. Supporters believe this is a systemic advancement to prevent asset concealment, but many are also concerned that formalizing transparency in marriage may gradually erode trust in relationships.
Social scientist Sun Cheng (pseudonym) from Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, in an interview, stated: “This not only concerns the protection of women’s rights but also represents an official institutional intervention for the transparency of family assets. Essentially, it transforms marital trust into a legally verifiable relationship. However, why China has only introduced similar regulations now is also a subject for deep contemplation.”
Lawyer Mr. Feng from Guangzhou pointed out the appearance of this provision reflects the longstanding concerns in Chinese society regarding financial concealment in marriages and highlights the lack of trust between spouses.
He said, “In the divorce cases I handle, asset concealment has become almost routine. Many parties did not establish clear property boundaries before marriage and lack mechanisms of trust afterward, leading to one side hiding assets through setting up companies or transferring accounts. The introduction of the new provision can to some extent make the financial situation more transparent and provide a legal basis for the disadvantaged party to seek redress.”
He also emphasized that behind Chinese marriages lies the fragility of social trust, indicating that the judicial system is gradually intervening in private life.
Specifically, according to the new clause, either spouse only needs to provide valid documents proving the marriage relationship to apply to the real estate registration center or vehicle management department to inquire about the other party’s property holdings, and the relevant agencies must accept and provide written information.
Lawyer Feng stated, “This means that in the past, accessing information about a spouse’s assets that required tedious procedures such as court investigations or lawyer evidence can now be obtained directly through administrative channels.”
The backdrop of this system’s introduction is the continuous decline in marital stability and the widening trust fissures. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party in 2025, approximately 5.9 million couples registered for marriage nationwide in 2024, a nearly 50% decrease from a decade ago, while the number of divorces reached 2.4 million couples. Guangdong, as an economically prosperous province, has a high volume of marriage registrations, but divorce rates are also significant. According to the Guangdong Provincial Civil Affairs Department data, the province had 218,000 registered divorces in 2023, about half of the number of marriages, ranking among the top in the country for divorce rates.
Many researchers believe that economic pressure, financial opaqueness, and changing gender roles are the main reasons leading to the crisis of marital trust.
“Hiding assets has long been one of the most common points of contention in divorce cases,” said lawyer Chen Huiwen (pseudonym) from Guangzhou, emphasizing that the biggest dispute in Chinese divorce litigation lies in property division: “In judicial practice, especially for the female party, it has often been difficult to prove the other party’s assets due to lack of evidence. This new regulation, to some extent, gives the disadvantaged party the right to be informed before the relationship breaks down.”
It is widely recognized in academia that Chinese family structures are undergoing rapid transformation. From the collective marriages of “couples sharing hardships” in the last century to the contemporary emphasis on individual autonomy in marriages, families are no longer absolute unions of economy and emotions.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the Chinese Communist Party, by the end of 2023, there were over 510 million households in the country, with single-person households accounting for 29.2%.
Ms. Zhao, a marriage and family researcher from Chengdu, pointed out: “The introduction of this system reflects the fragility of contemporary marriages. When love and trust are not enough to sustain a relationship, one can only rely on rules to constrain it.”
On social media, many netizens support Guangdong’s approach. A woman from Shenzhen commented, “Finally, I can find out if he secretly bought a house, no longer being kept in the dark.” A male netizen responded, “If checking is necessary for peace of mind, then this marriage has lost its meaning.”
Some commentators have pointed out that the mutual inquiry system appears to be legal innovation but is actually a penetration of the state into the private emotional domain. While the system provides protection, it may also lead to marital trust being based on documents and permissions, rather than understanding and honesty.
Sun Cheng concluded by saying, “The mutual inquiry system seems to ensure fairness, but in reality, it further weakens the privacy of marriage. When trust requires legal verification, it is no longer trust.”