Chinese lawmakers have drafted a law to order all divorcing couples to complete a '30-day calming period' after the country saw tens of thousands of people applying for separation following the lockdown.

Married couples who wish to break up must wait for a month before their request can be officially approved, the bill proposes.

Officials believe the 'cooling-off period' can help partners avoid 'impulsive separation'.

The bill was first proposed in 2018 after the divorce rate in the country had been increasing for the past few years. The growth continued to spike after the coronavirus lockdown, Chinese media report.

During the 30 days, either party can withdraw the application if they regret their decision, according to the draft of China's new Civil Code.

It comes as divorce rates have spiked across China because 'couples spend too much time together during coronavirus home quarantine', officials claimed.

The new proposal is part of a draft for China's new Civil Code, which is due to be reviewed during the annual session of National People's Congress on May 22.

The bill consists of general provisions and laws on property, contracts, personality rights, marriage and family, inheritance, and torts, according to state media .

Introducing the 'calming period' will help couples avoid rushing into a divorce and maintain family stability, a judge told state broadcaster Friday.

'We've noticed in judicial practices that there is a type of impulsive divorces,' said Wang Dan from Beijing's Supreme People's Court.

'If the court just simply prosecutes this kind of divorces, it would not only dissolve the marital relationship but also cause a huge impact on the care and support for the children and elderly.

'To reduce the number of impulsive divorces, we decided to introduce the "calming period" to the drafted Civil Code,' Ms Wang added.

But the proposed scheme would only apply to couples who are divorcing by agreement, according to the press. Couples who file a divorce in courts will be exempt from the 'calming-period' to protect domestic abuse victims.

It came after China saw more than four million marriages falling through last year, Chinese media report.

Divorce rates in China also spiked following the coronavirus lockdown because 'couples are spending too much time together at home' during self-isolation, officials suggested.

One registry office in Dazhou, Sichuan Province of south-western China saw 300 couples applying for a divorce in the space of three weeks after the lockdown was lifted.

Authorities believe the sharp increase of divorce requests could be caused by the fact that partners have spent too much time in close quarters under quarantine.

'The divorce rate [in the district] has soared compared to before [the coronavirus outbreak],' Lu Shijun, the manager of the marriage registry in Dazhou told the press in March.

'Young people are spending a lot of time at home. They tend to get into heated arguments because of something petty and rush into getting a divorce,' Mr Lu .

Marriage registration offices in Xi'an of Shaanxi Province in north-western China also saw an unprecedented rise of divorce appointments since re-opening in March, according to reports.

One district office received 14 requests in one day, hitting the upper limit set by the local council, a registration officer told Global Times.

Officials in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of southern China, have adjusted the number of divorce appointments to 10 couples a day after receiving an overwhelming number of requests.

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