Chinese men are now in hot demand among foreign women. Fact or fiction?

The Chinese state media People's Daily claims it's true because they are “honest, outgoing and responsible”.

In a recent report published on Jul 28, the government mouthpiece referenced a recent marriage between a famous Chinese actor, Yu Xiaoguang, and a Korean actress, Choo Ja-hyun, that gained much public attention, as an example of Chinese men becoming increasingly attractive to foreign girls.

Intermarriages an emerging trend?

The report also pointed to an emerging trend of increasing numbers of intermarriages between Chinese men and foreign women in China.

The report was picked up online by The Daily Mail and Nextshark, sparking debate among some netizens, with comments like these:

"I literally don't see any statistics which show that there are more interracial couples or marriages. All I see from this article [is that] the Chinese government [is desperate to promote] their men."

"Chinese propaganda campaign [hopes] to get their men to look for non-Chinese women since [there is a] shortage. But I know of no Western country where Chinese men are popular. State media really does not bother with facts."

Bachelors' crisis

Sociologists in China had coined the term - "bachelor's crisis" to describe the worrying gender gap between Chinese men and women, a burden caused by the now-lifted one-child policy.

It is estimated that by 2020, 15 million Chinese men between the ages of 35 and 59 will not be able to find wives, and by 2050, the figures are expected to double.

The report may be one way to promote intermarriages and the desirability of Chinese men by the Chinese government.

In reality, besides the purported qualities of Chinese men, the reason behind increasing numbers of intermarriages may also be attributed to the stress Chinese men feel in an increasingly affluent society.

It is easy to find reports online about Chinese men pro-actively looking for foreign spouses as they do not want to marry Chinese women.

Mei Aisi, a Chinese man who was featured by China News as one of the "rare" cases who married a Ukrainian lady, thought there was a disadvantage to marrying Chinese women:

"If you want to pursue a Western lady, all you need is guts and meticulousness.

Once she's in your hands, you don't ever need to worry about pleasing her parents. This is much easier than pursuing a Chinese lady. All you need is your feelings. You don't need to be rich and provide everything for her."

Another Chinese man, who married a Japanese woman, weighed the pros and cons between choosing a Chinese woman and a Japanese one, and came to this conclusion:

"Japanese women celebrate the fact that they are women, while Chinese ones lament their fate for being one. Japanese women are gentler and more patient, and they are also more open to sexual matters."

Whatever the case, intermarriages look set to become increasingly common in China, as the country becomes more cosmopolitan and developed.

Here are totally unrelated but equally interesting articles:

This is cereals news: BreadTalk to launch new cereal floss bun, available for 8 days only

One of Us: Nothing to see here, it’s just a bowling alley supervisor turned kickass club DJ

Top image via here