Financial crisis takes the gloss off foreign grooms

If you're a foreigner keen on marrying a Chinese, she is more likely to say bu this year - and you can blame Lehman Bros et al for it.

Two nationwide surveys, conducted at the beginning of last year and earlier this year by major Chinese matchmaking agency hongniang.com, show that women are now less inclined to marry someone from outside the country.

The latest poll, with the September 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Bros as a watershed, and conducted from December to February, shows that women who intend to wed foreigners plunged from 42.5 percent in the survey last year to 16.8 percent. At the same time, those who viewed cross-cultural marriages with approval fell from 72 points to 54, with 100 indicating the most favorable.

The sample sizes were 6,594 last year and 4,377 this year.

"This indicates that with the impact of the financial crisis, women are more prudent in choosing a foreign partner, and they are most concerned about financial stability and sense of security because of the spending culture in Western countries," explained Fang Fang, chief relationship consultant at the agency.

According to Fang, the surveys were conducted on both single and married women in the form of questionnaires, which were sent out to the agency's members or given to those who attended its social activities.

The number of international marriages has been growing along with China's increasing interaction with other countries, figures from information portal Chinanews.com showed last December. There are about 400,000 international marriages in the country every year, the portal reported.

For Bao Lu, a marketing specialist in her 20s with Trends Traveler magazine, the term "international marriage" conjures up images of media magnate Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi.

She thinks it needs courage to marry a person from another culture because cultural differences are a major issue. "But if you meet the right person at the right time at the right place, then go ahead. I don't believe money will come into the equation. I can accept a foreign husband if he's Mr Right," Bao added.

Zhang Jiehai, however, sees matters differently.

The psychologist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences believes the drop in interest "reflects some women's emphasis on materialism". "To some, it's most important to improve material life."

Wang Xingjuan, a counselor at Maple Women's Psychological Counseling Center in Beijing, said: "China's opening up has given Chinese people more opportunities to meet foreigners. And it's normal to see them tie the knot because love knows no barriers."

Wang thinks it's also "normal" to see Chinese women less interested in foreigners given the backdrop of the international financial crisis.

"Love is related to material life and people are just practical. The financial crisis may lead to unemployment and cause pressure in Western countries. In China things are relatively stable. That's why their expectations of international marriages have gone down."

But 30-something Zhao Jie, who has been married to an American in his 30s for more than two years, is bemused.

"What has the financial crisis got to do with marriage? I don't understand it," said Zhao, who met her husband at a seminar.

"Marriage is for life. It means you are in the same boat and you face everything together, good or bad. You marry him because he's the right person."

Zhao avers she's more than satisfied with her marriage. "From the bottom of my heart, I think it's the best choice I've ever made. We have the same life goals and the same values. He has all the qualities that I like. Nationality is not a problem at all."

If you're a foreigner and still looking to marry a Chinese woman, go hunt for someone like Zhao - and you had better be Mr Right (and have a sound bank balance).