Economics Professor's Solution For China's 35 Mn 'Leftover Men' Has Left Social Media Divided
Trending News: An economics professor's suggestion for rural China's 35 million "surplus men" to find brides has sparked online outrage.
China faces a unique demographic challenge — it has nearly 35 million so-called "leftover men". The surplus is largely caused by the decades-long one-child policy, which skewed gender ratios and left many men struggling to find spouses. The problem has intensified over the past decade, particularly in rural areas, as high bride prices and shifting attitudes towards traditional marriage make it harder for young men to marry.
Ding Changfa, an associate professor of economics at Xiamen University, came out with a solution to this problem — international marriages. According to a report in The South China Morning Post, he suggested that Chinese men could look to countries such as Russia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Pakistan to find brides. This, he argued, could help relieve the pressure on men who are unable to afford the rising costs of marriage in China.
The proposal to encourage international marriages as a solution for the country’s 35 million surplus men, however, has sparked widespread debate and outrage online.
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Marriage Is A Costly Affair For Men In China
China's gender imbalance, largely attributed to the decades-long one-child policy, has resulted in a surplus of nearly 35 million men, according to the country's Seventh National Population Census in 2020. A report from the Institute for China Rural Studies at Central China Normal University, published earlier this year, highlights how rising bride prices and a declining acceptance of traditional marriage are key reasons behind this trend, the SCMP report said.
Men in China apparently end up paying a bride price of up to 600,000 yuan (nearly Rs 71 lakh). The average disposable income in rural areas, the report says, was just over 20,000 yuan last year, which makes marriage increasingly unaffordable.
Offering a solution, Ding Changfa suggested that bringing in foreign brides could be the way forward.
“In rural China, we have approximately 34.9 million ‘leftover men’ who might face the marriage pressures of providing housing, cars, and bride price totalling between 500,000 and 600,000 yuan (US$70,000 and US$84,000)," Ding was quoted as saying in the SCMP report. He added: “Solving this issue could involve attracting a significant number of eligible young women from overseas.”
A 2013 study titled "Surplus Chinese Men: Demographic Determinants of the Sex Ratio at Marriageable Ages in China" examined the factors behind China's unbalanced sex ratio at marriageable ages. Using a stable population model, the study identified key contributors, including the sex ratio at birth, population growth, the age gap between marriage partners, and survival rates from birth to marriageable age.
The study suggested that policies focusing on reducing the sex ratio at birth, closing the marriage age gap, and modestly increasing fertility rates would help address the imbalance. However, these changes will take time, and the imbalance is expected to persist until at least 2060.
The study also highlighted the need for long-term cultural changes, such as encouraging more equitable gender norms and increasing the value placed on female infants. Even with policy shifts, a significant number of unmarried men will continue to shape China's social, political, and economic landscape for decades to come, it noted.
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Online Outrage Over Proposal To Encourage International Marriages
Though international marriages are not uncommon in China, the proposal did not go down well with the online community.
Critics, particularly women, condemned the idea as akin to human trafficking, while others raised concerns about cultural and language differences leading to family conflict.
Some men, however, supported the proposal, seeing foreign brides as less financially demanding.
One user, as quoted in the report, likened international marriages to the entry of foreign companies like Tesla into China, which, they argued, promoted competition, improved quality, and reduced costs.
International marriages already have takers in China, with some matchmaking agencies reportedly even offering specialised services for China-Russia pairings, taking advantage of the gender imbalances in both countries — Russia’s surplus of women and China’s surplus of men.
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