In China, the number of marriage registrations is falling—from 7.7 million last year to just 6.1 million today. As a result, Chen Songxi has proposed lowering the legal age of marriage from 22 to 18.
There is also a problem with gender imbalance due to the previous one-child policy and its favoritism towards men. Because of this, many men—especially in the 1980s—were called "leftover men" because they had difficulty finding wives. So some are recruiting foreign brides from neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Vietnam.
May problema rin sa gender imbalance dahil sa dati nang one-child policy at pabor sa mga lalaki. Dahil dito, maraming lalaki—lalo na noong dekada 80—ang tinawag na "leftover men" dahil hirap silang makahanap ng asawa. Kaya may ilan na nagrerekluta ng mga dayuhang brides mula sa mga kalapit na bansa tulad ng Myanmar at Vietnam.
These foreign brides often end up in illegal matchmaking networks or commercial agencies. According to Human Rights Watch, many women and children are brought to China with the deceptive promise of good jobs. Sometimes, they fall prey to traffickers who sell them for US$3,000 to US$13,000.
To combat human trafficking, China's Ministry of Public Security launched a campaign in March 2024 against transnational trafficking of women and children. That is, the government is trying to stop illegal cross-border marriages and the scam of so-called "marriage tours" in which men are deceived.
