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China warns its lonely 'leftover men' against 'buying' foreign brides in Bangladesh
The Chinese embassy in Dhaka issued a warning against ‘buying’ foreign wives amid rising marriage scams and trafficking.
The Chinese embassy in Dhaka recently issued an unusual warning to its citizens, cautioning them against "buying a foreign wife" amid reports of marriage scams and human trafficking in Bangladesh. The embassy asked its citizens not to be misled by social media posts offering quick marriages, adding that, according to Chinese law, no agency was allowed to offer international matchmaking services, a report by the Independent said.
The citizens have been advised to avoid cross-border marriage agencies and warned of online romance scams to prevent financial and personal losses. The Chinese government's three-decade-long one-child policy has skewed the sex ratio in the country as more and more families preferred to have sons, and girls were aborted or abandoned.
Now, the country has a surplus of 35 million men who are unable to find brides and are venturing out of the country in search of a life partner. In 2024, the number of marriages in China declined by close to a million, and economic situations and the rising cost of living are some of the reasons behind the slump.
The leftover men
These 'leftover men' or 'shengnan shidai' in Chinese have increasingly sought to seek brides in other Asian countries like Pakistan, Russia and Bangladesh.
Rising demand for foreign brides in China has fueled a wave of human trafficking, with women and children from South and Southeast Asia being smuggled into the country under pretences. According to a report, Bangladeshi women are among those allegedly sold into China by criminal networks operating under the guise of arranged marriages.
The Bangladeshi embassy has since issued a warning that individuals involved in these illicit cross-border marriages could face arrest on suspicion of human trafficking.
Pakistan has also emerged as a key hub in this trafficking network, with reports revealing that brokers are pressuring young women from minority Christian families to marry Chinese men. Human Rights Watch has urged both China and Pakistan to take immediate action, citing “increasing evidence that Pakistani women and girls are at risk of sexual slavery in China.”
