"The dish you ordered today was more expensive than mine, and I covered the difference. Don't forget to pay me back."

Those lines might seem to be part of a conversation between two college roomies. But nowadays such exchanges are common between A-A married couples or romantic partners.

The basic principle of living an A-A lifestyle is that each of the parties controls his or her disposable income and spends it as desired. All bills are strictly divided and rights to financial independence jealously guarded. It entails a universal application of the Dutch treat concept.

A-A couples first appeared in the southeastern coastal cities of Guangdong Province, gradually spreading north to such metropolises as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and even as far as Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province.

An urban legend is circulating around Beijing about a university couple that may be carrying their A-A status to extremes. They have his and hers bank accounts, as well as one joint account for agreed-upon shared expenditures, like food. One day in the checkout line at the supermarket they realized they had forgotten to bring the joint-account card. Neither would relent and use the personal cards to pay the bill; instead, they paid for a taxi to go home and get the appropriate card.

Anything new often generates controversy. Although opinions tend to be strong and debates sometimes heated, there is often both good and bad in new concepts like A-A.

In general, A-A couples are on sound financial footing. Most of them have attended or graduated university and earn comfortable salaries. They tend to be independent and open-minded. Even a few older, more established, middle-class white-collar workers and intellectuals are opting for the A-A lifestyle. Like DINKs-dual income, no kids-each partner has his or her own source of funds, and there are no children or elderly parents to support. In China, a distinction is made between DINKs and A-A couples in that the latter may be living together without marrying.

Guo Li, head of the Heilongjiang Provincial Research Institute on Marriage and Love, says that those who are financially independent are the strongest advocates of the A-A lifestyle. Since urban women typically pull in only 70 percent of the earnings of their male counterparts, it is probably predominantly men who have pushing A-A into the limelight. However, notes Guo, there is a group of intellectual females who embrace A-A as a way to demonstrate their independence.

In an informal random survey of college student couples who are living together, one is hard put to find anyone who doesn't advocate A-A. Despite their limited funds, the students have no qualms about leaving tradition behind and embracing a new lifestyle like A-A.
 
In the West, DINKs became commonplace among young, upwardly mobile professionals back in the 1980s. The concept, in its altered A-A form, first began to draw attention in China about 10 years ago as a result of the nation's opening to the world and its growing prosperity.

The advancing status of women was another significant contributor. By 2000, 84.9 percent of Chinese women had their own sources of income, even if their husbands earned enough to support them.

Despite the boom in popularity, the A-A lifestyle is not likely to become mainstream. It is probably here to stay for a minority, however, as a steady trickle of young, comparatively wealthy urban couples enjoy the benefits of both cohabitation and financial independence. Children, aging parents and increased responsibilities will likely pull many back to more traditional practices as they grow older.

(China.org.cn by Wang Ruyue, June 30, 2004)