China’s shrinking marriage market, gender imbalance and economic pressures have pushed some people to seek life partners overseas.
However, this growing demand has created opportunities for cross-border matchmaking scams, exposing vulnerable women and unmarried men to exploitation, a report has said.
According to Mekong News, illegal matchmaking networks are targeting unmarried Chinese men, particularly in rural areas where finding a partner has become increasingly difficult. Chinese authorities have issued warnings about such operations.
Police in Xintian County, Hunan province, recently cautioned people against cross-border marriages arranged through unlicensed agencies.
Their advisory highlighted cases involving excessive matchmaking fees, fake identities, immigration violations and disputes over children after marriages ended.
China’s marriage imbalance has deep demographic roots. Decades of son preference and the former one-child policy left the country with tens of millions more men than women.
Men from rural and low-income households face additional challenges as financial stability, housing and bride prices influence marriage prospects.
Domestic marriage registrations have also declined, reaching around 6.1 million in recent figures cited by reports. Fewer marriages and a larger pool of unmarried men have intensified competition, encouraging some to seek overseas matchmaking services.
The report said networks operating across Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as parts of Africa and the former Soviet Union, promise foreign brides to Chinese men.
However, criminal operators exploit both parties through fake identities, staged weddings, forged documents and repeated payment demands. Some women face deception, coercion and human trafficking, while prospective grooms lose substantial sums through agency fees and other charges.
The report warned that matrimonial fraud can conceal serious crimes involving women’s consent and freedom.
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