Chinese authorities have described the bulk of the country’s young male population as “weak” and “feminine.”

The BBC reported Thursday that the education ministry in the East Asian country had launched a new effort to ‘Prevent the Feminisation of Male Adolescents.’

The British state media quoted top Chinese official, Si Zefu, to have lamented that many young males in the socioculturally-militarised country had lost interest in becoming army heroes.

Mr. Zefu feared that the “feminisation” of Chinese males “would inevitably endanger the survival and development of the Chinese nation,” the media outlet reported.

The official linked the trend to single parenting, stating that a large number of Chinese boys were being raised by their mothers.

As part of efforts to enhance the masculinity of Chinese males, the country’s education ministry has mandated schools to scale-up instruction on physical education and recruit tutors from strong sporting backgrounds, officials said in a statement.

President Xi Jinping has been severely excoriated by citizens over his regime’s widely perceived sexist disposition.

Mr. Xi’s rule has been characterised by a variety of human rights repression.