In recent years, discussions about “men from remote mountain villages marrying foreign wives” on Chinese social media platforms have been gaining momentum. The imbalanced gender ratio in rural areas caused by China’s “family planning” policy has led to a growing population of single men. Against this backdrop, “cross-border brides” from countries like Vietnam and the Philippines have become a solution to the pressing social issue on the mainland.
Recently, a man from a village in Dianbai District, Maoming City, Guangdong Province, shared his experience of marrying a Filipino wife on social media. The Filipino blogger in a video mentioned that four Filipino girls had married into the village, with some already pregnant. His own wife is a Filipino woman who is currently expecting.
He mentioned that soon, all the single men in their village will be marrying Filipino girls. He also revealed that one Filipino girl had been married in their village for over seven years and had already given birth to two children, who are already grown.
The video resonated with many netizens online, with numerous users from Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, and other places commenting and requesting the blogger to introduce “Filipino girls” to their families.
A netizen from Guangdong, “Li Xiaomei”, commented, “I am from Yangjiang. Can you introduce a Filipino girl to my son? Both of my sons are unmarried.” Another netizen from Guangdong, “Zhuo Er Touxiang”, said, “Please introduce one to my son. I am in Gaozhou City.”
In recent years, young people in mainland China have been feeling overwhelmed by life and face high dowry demands for marriage. Many young people are unable to find wives domestically, especially those born in the 80s and 90s, as marriage requires owning a house, a car, and savings.
An analysis by blogger “Kankanertan” pointed out that compared to the high dowry, house, and car requirements in China, Filipino girls have much lower marriage thresholds. “As long as the girl likes you, marriage is just a meal, a ring, a pastor, and you can tie the knot happily.” This stark contrast has made Filipino brides highly attractive to single Chinese men.
One of the severe consequences left by China’s “family planning” policy is the gender imbalance with more men than women, leading to what is commonly known as the “leftover men crisis”.
The structural imbalance in China’s population is widely believed to be the root cause of the “leftover men crisis”. According to the data from the seventh national census in China, there are 34.9 million more men than women, leaving millions of men facing the dilemma of not being able to get married.
The marriage rate in mainland China has been plummeting year after year, with the number of single people exceeding 240 million, and rural areas are filled with unmarried middle-aged men. More worrisome is that in 2023, China’s total fertility rate was only 1.0, ranking second to last globally.
In the first half of last year, Professor Ding Changfa from the Department of Economics at Xiamen University proposed the idea that there are a large number of unmarried young people in rural areas and suggested opening up international marriages and introducing overseas young women of the right age.
Unmarried men in China believe that foreign wives have lower requirements, they don’t demand a house, a car, or even dowry, and many Southeast Asian women are diligent and thrifty, making them the ideal choice for marriage.
In fact, this trend has long been evident. Qin Tingting, a sociologist at Renmin University of China, has pointed out, “Vietnamese brides have spread deep into the heartland of China, even reaching regions in the northeast.” Li Wei, an associate professor of sociology at Frostburg State University in the United States, also stated that intermarriage with Southeast Asian women is a common phenomenon in rural townships in China.
Li Wei explained that the gender ratio in rural China was already imbalanced, and with rural women moving to urban areas, the plight of unmarried middle-aged rural men becomes more acute.
The rise of transnational marriages is just one aspect of China’s current marriage and fertility crisis. In the grim economic environment in China, more and more young people are struggling to survive, leading to a decrease in the overall marriage rate year after year.
Financial blogger “Uneasy Cola Cake” recently remarked that the desire to marry among young people today is rare. “My cousin and cousin-in-law are not married, and my cousin-in-law doesn’t plan to have children. Raising a child is not easy, and those who have children understand this.”
On December 28, 2023, the “China Population and Employment Statistics Yearbook 2023” indicated that the unmarried rates in different age groups were striking, with the 25-29 age group at 51.3%, 30-34 age group at 18.4%, and 35-39 age group at 8%.
Voice of America once reported that Zhang Yu, a 32-year-old from northeastern China, believed that the unfavorable economic situation directly impacted the marriage rate. He explained that due to strict implementation of the one-child policy in the region, marriage puts significant financial pressure on both sides to support four elderly parents and a child, creating a heavy burden.
“Marriage, childbirth, loans for buying houses and cars are all debts, overloading the future. When the economy is clearly declining, if resources are limited, then spending must be minimized,” said Zhang Yu.
Many netizens expressed similar sentiments. After the topic “unmarried rate surpasses 50% for 25-29 age group” trended, many comments reflected a sentiment of avoiding marriage due to financial concerns. These remarks received thousands of likes.
Despite various prodding marriage policies introduced by local governments across China, such as receiving incentives from the government upon marriage, many netizens remain skeptical. A tech blogger with over 500,000 fans, “Jianghu Li Fu Xiang,” wrote, “If marriage is good, why the need for coercion? Who doesn’t know money is lying on the ground waiting to be picked up?” This statement received over 26,000 likes, exemplifying the frustration and resistance of numerous young people towards marriage in light of their current realities.