The Chinese government has also warned its citizens in Bangladesh against engaging in cross-border marriages, reporting an increase in scams and human trafficking activities. In a statement issued late Sunday, the Chinese embassy in Dhaka warned nationals against falling victim to social media posts offering easy and speedy marriages overseas.
Under Chinese law, international matchmaking agencies are strictly banned, and the persons taking part in fraudulent or commercial cross-border marriages may be punished by law, according to the embassy. The embassy further pointed out that participation in such marriages, especially in Bangladesh, would result in their arrest on suspicion of human trafficking.
The alert comes as fears rise about criminal syndicates trafficking women and children from South and Southeast Asia into China on the pretext of marriage. Bangladeshi women, among others, have reportedly been sold by human-trafficking rings working under the cover of lawful matrimony, according to a report in The Daily Star.
China’s large gender imbalance largely the result of the decades-long one-child policy has left more than 35 million men without brides, and some have turned to seeking brides in such countries as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Russia. The increased demand has fueled trafficking concerns. Diminishing Chinese marriages from 7.7 million in 2023 to 6.1 million in 2024 is due to increasing economic pressures and changing social values.
Economist Ding Changfa was criticized for implying that Chinese men should turn to foreign brides from countries like Vietnam and Pakistan to address the country’s “marriage crisis.”
Pakistan has been at the center of this issue, with reports stating that poor Christian families are being forced into marrying off their daughters to Chinese nationals.
Human Rights Watch had earlier raised the issue in 2019, calling on China and Pakistan to take action against what it termed an increasing threat of sexual slavery among trafficked women and girls.
