China’s single women in crisis—offering cash for marriage, yet still rejected!

Older single women nowadays are facing extreme competition. Some are so desperate to get married that they are willing to forego housing and car requirements, and even pay the man 50,000 yuan as a dowry. Some are even offering 100,000 yuan, along with three gold and five gold jewelry sets. These women already have houses, cars, and savings. And me? I only have a rental apartment. How can I even compete? I just want to cry. I'm almost 35 years old and considered an older leftover woman. At this point, I don't even ask for a dowry. But even if I offer a house and a car, it's still hard to get married. The men at blind dates think I'm too old. There's nothing I can do. Finding a partner is just too difficult. I might as well live alone. Currently, China has over 200 million single men and women. Most of the leftover men are in rural areas, often struggling financially and unable to afford marriage costs. In contrast, most leftover women are in big cities and belong to the high-education, high-income, and high-appearance group. Due to differences in wealth and social class, these leftover men and women rarely end up together. Today, let's talk about the issue of older single women. In April last year, a large-scale matchmaking event was held in Hangzhou, attracting thousands of participants. However, while hundreds of women showed up, the number of men was shockingly low, creating an awkward atmosphere. Some men, seeing how few males were present, simply left early. In early December last year, a five-star hotel in Wuhan hosted another matchmaking event. This time, 800 elegantly dressed women attended, but not a single man showed up. The entry fee for the Wuhan matchmaking event was free for men, but each woman had to pay 3,800 yuan. In total, the 800 women spent 304,000 yuan, only to end up with no men at all. It was truly a matchmaking event for nothing. As for why men are unwilling to attend matchmaking events, some netizens analyzed that high-quality men don't need blind dates. They can easily find a partner on their own. Meanwhile, men with poor conditions won't go either because they understand their own limitations. Women typically expect a man to have a house, a car, and a dowry. If a man doesn't meet these criteria, why bother attending just to humiliate himself? In major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, there are many older single women. These women are high-quality individuals. They have high levels of education, stable jobs, and decent looks. However, due to their older age, they find it difficult to find a partner, even when they continually lower their standards. I was born in 1988, single and never married. I have a master's degree and run my own company. I have always believed that being financially independent is a mark of excellence, but at my age, I am struggling in the marriage market. I can tell young women without reservation, whether it's men your age or younger, they will discriminate against you because of your age. And this discrimination seems to be widely accepted by society as if you deserve it. The harsh reality is that very few people your age are still single. Your best outcome might be to prepare yourself for a lifetime of solitude. I just saw that girl wanted to add you on WeChat. Why did you refuse? Man, she's already 35. Why would I add her? Matchmaker, but she has good qualities. She has a stable job and even owns a house. Man, that's useless. Even if she has good conditions, she won't spend money on me. Instead, she'll still expect me to spend money, live in my house, and use my money. Older women, they expect men to spend money on them and also provide emotional support. I feel like I'd be bringing home an ancestor, not a wife. But with younger women, as long as they're not gold diggers, you don't have to spend much money, and they can even provide emotional support for you. In China, men are typically expected to pay a dowry when getting married. In Jiangxi province, dowries are generally around 300,000 yuan, with even higher amounts in rural areas. In Guangzhou, Fujian, and other Minnan regions, dowries range from 200,000 to 500,000 yuan, with some areas requiring additional conditions like the three golds, gold jewelry, and property. Because Chinese women tend to have high financial expectations for marriage, many Chinese men have started looking abroad, where foreign women do not demand dowries, cars, or houses. In recent years, the number of foreign women marrying into China has been increasing. According to statistics on cross-border marriages, in 2019, over 29,000 Chinese men married foreign women. In 2020, more than 10,000 foreign brides moved to China. By 2021, this number had risen to over 27,000. A young Chinese man married a Ukrainian wife. Man, my father-in-law supported our marriage by sending us a total of $50,000, and their family didn't ask for a dowry. Tell me, why do you think this foreign girl was so determined to marry a poor guy like me? Woman. Honey. What are you looking at so intently? Man. I'm looking at the photos from when you first came to China as a student. Woman. Why are you looking at those? Man. When we were in university, there were so many handsome guys. Why did you choose me? Woman. When I first arrived in China, I didn't speak Chinese, so I didn't have many friends. Everyone spoke Chinese, and I couldn't understand. But when I met you for the first time, I realized you could speak fluent English. At that moment, I thought, wow, why is this guy so amazing? And I also thought you were very handsome, so I wanted to talk to you. Man. Now that last part sounds like the real truth. Vietnamese brides are popular among Chinese men due to their gentle, hardworking, and family-oriented nature. In Guangxi, it is especially common for men to marry Vietnamese wives. There's even a saying in the region, if you can't find a local wife, a Vietnamese bride is your solution. No dowry, no house required. She can handle both social events and household chores. However, a Vietnamese blogger warns Chinese men against using matchmaking agencies to find Vietnamese brides. Not only do these agencies charge a lot of money, but the brides they arrange often run away after marriage. Are you too naive or just too brave? Why would you hand over thousands, even tens of thousands of yuan, to matchmakers and agencies to find a Vietnamese wife for you? Do you realize that China's divorce rate is already shockingly high? Even when you marry a Chinese woman, someone from the same country with an emotional foundation, you can still end up divorcing. So how much riskier is it to find a wife from another country? You don't know her, and she doesn't know you. You don't understand Vietnam, and she doesn't understand China. You too are introduced by a matchmaker, rush into marriage, and think that this kind of relationship will lead to happiness? Vietnamese women are not desperate to get married. Even if a woman has poor conditions, she can still find an average local man in Vietnam. So why would she leave her home country and travel so far to marry you? It's because she expects something from you. She hopes you'll treat her well and provide her with a better life. But once she realizes that you can't give her what she expected, and there was no emotional foundation to begin with, she'll leave after just a few months. Do you know how hard older single women are trying to get married these days? I've seen so many cases around me, women lowering their dowry expectations, reducing their housing requirements, and even willing to contribute more from their own side just to get married. Have you ever seen this happen? Some women have messaged me privately, saying that if I don't ask for a dowry, I'm devaluing myself, and if I offer a dowry instead, I'm basically paying for a husband. But sister, we are not the same. You are young, beautiful, and have a great figure. Men lining up for you could stretch all the way to France, but I'm almost 35 years old. If I don't offer tens of thousands in dowry to attract a husband, I might be alone for the rest of my life. I beg you have some empathy. Do you really want me to be single forever? Matchmaker Jingjai at the matchmaking corner of Wansong Academy in Hangzhou came across the marriage requirements of an older single woman and felt that the current dating market is truly brutal. Some older women are really desperate. Just now I saw a woman at Wansong Academy standing by the roadside holding up a sign. Her information stated that she was 38 years old, unmarried, running her own business with an annual income of 1 million yuan, and owning both a house and a car. Her requirements for a man, no more than 10 years younger than her, stable job, stable emotional support, and at least average looks. Honestly, considering her own conditions, her expectations don't seem too high. But many parents commented, who would want to marry someone so much older? Do you think her requirements are reasonable? Many netizens feel that a 10-year age gap is too much. Five years at most would still be acceptable. Chinese yuan crash in 2025? A surge in capital flight expected. As the year draws to a close, the recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference of the CCP unveiled policies for active fiscal measures and moderately relaxed monetary policies. However, China's economy remains in a precarious state. The latest data reveals that in November, capital outflows, also known as capital flight, from China reached a record-breaking $45.7 billion. Zhai Shanying, the former president of the Investment Banking Division at China Construction Bank, predicts that the Chinese yuan will experience a substantial devaluation in 2025, signaling a peak in capital flight. Li Jun, an independent TV producer, said that according to official CCP data, November 2024 saw a historic outflow of capital from China's capital markets, totaling $45.7 billion. Data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, SAFE, shows that in November, cross-border investment income amounted to $188.9 billion, while outflows totaled $234.6 billion, resulting in a deficit of $45.7 billion, the largest monthly deficit in history. Li Jun noted that for the past two to three decades, this figure has traditionally been positive, reflecting a surplus. Even in early 2022, when China's economy was still struggling due to the pandemic, there was a surplus of $100 billion, suggesting that foreign capital continued to invest in China. However, by the end of 2022, this surplus sharply plummeted to around $20 billion, and in the second quarter of 2023, it became a negative value of more than $10 billion for the first time in two to three decades. Despite a brief rebound, October 2024 saw a deficit of $25.8 billion, and November further expanded this to $45.7 billion. This marks a significant turning point in the history of China's capital flows situation. Zhai Shanying, former head of China Construction Bank's Investment Banking Division suggested that capital flight is still in its early stages, with the real wave of outflows expected in 2025. According to Zhai, the recent outflows are merely the beginning of a larger trend, as more cautious investors begin to move capital out of China in anticipation of greater instability. He forecasts a peak of capital flight in 2025 and notes that by 2026, the external environment may not be conducive to such movements. He explained that during the months following October, there should be rapid foreign exchange growth If this were the case, the Chinese yuan should be relatively stable, but the current trend is already alarming. Zhai warned that once the forced settlement period ends, the outflows will likely intensify. He also predicted that the Chinese yuan will undergo a massive devaluation in the near future, potentially far beyond what is currently imaginable. He explained that with a population of about 1 billion, out of the total 1.4 billion, if just 100 million people each took advantage of the government's annual foreign exchange quota of $10,000, that would result in a total of $1 trillion being moved out of the country. Zhai emphasized that the real capital flight has yet to fully materialize because Chinese citizens are generally slow to react and often act only after rumors and information spread widely. Zhai further explained that the capital flight in recent months is only partially visible. He revealed that in the fourth quarter of this year, much larger amounts of capital have been moved out of China via decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, where Chinese citizens have been converting their yuan into USDT, a type of stablecoin. The Chinese government does not provide citizens with easy channels to exchange yuan for dollars, which has pushed people to seek alternative methods. Senior media figure Guo Jun commented on a significant symbolic event that occurred the previous week. The 30-year Chinese government bond yield dropped below that of Japan's 30-year bonds for the first time in history, a clear indicator of deteriorating confidence in China's economic future. In comparison, the U.S. 30-year bond yield is 4.755%, while European countries such as Germany, 2.534%, and France, 3.64%, offer higher yields than China and Japan. Guo emphasized that this drop in the Chinese bond yield shows that China's 30-year bonds now offer the lowest returns among all major global economies, while the risk associated with these bonds is exceptionally high. Foreign capital invested in China, estimated at around $2.5 trillion, is increasingly likely to leave, as investing in U.S. bonds offers almost double the return with significantly lower risk. Guo stated that the Chinese yuan is bound to continue its depreciation. Exchange rates are essentially determined by supply and demand, and the government's control over these factors can only maintain the currency's value within a limited range. With China still claiming large foreign exchange reserves, the government can control the currency to some extent, but the pressure on the Chinese yuan will intensify if China's economic downturn continues and foreign capital exits in greater volumes. He also pointed out the potential for the incoming U.S. President, Donald Trump, to escalate the trade war with China, possibly imposing more tariffs, which could lead China to devalue the yuan further as a way to offset the impact of the tariffs. Zhai Shanying also discussed a common misconception about China's foreign exchange reserves. Many people believe that the Chinese government holds vast reserves, but Zhai clarified that this is a misleading impression. The reserves often cited by the government do not reflect the full picture, as a significant portion of the reserves consists of liabilities. As of 2023, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $3.2 trillion, but the country's external liabilities amounted to approximately $2.45 trillion. This leaves a net value of only around $700 billion. Furthermore, the reserves are not entirely in U.S. dollars. They include other currencies such as the Russian ruble, Vietnamese dong, Malaysian ringgit, Thai baht, and offshore yuan, which are counted as part of China's foreign exchange reserves. In reality, China's reserves in U.S. dollars are significantly lower than the official figure suggests. Zhai noted that much of the foreign exchange reserves come from businesses and individuals engaging in foreign trade or exchanging currencies. These reserves are not the Chinese government's money but represent the transactions of international businesses operating in China. Zhai also stressed that China's economy no longer has a core industry driving growth. As seen in the most recent Central Economic Work Conference, China's economy lacks vital sectors that generate significant revenues. Instead, China is increasingly relying on borrowing to stay afloat. Zhai noted that in past years, specific industries were highlighted as key drivers of economic growth, but this year, only vague mentions of the Hainan Free Trade Port and Artificial Intelligence, AI, were made. Zhai highlighted that China's fiscal situation is precarious, with government revenue expected to be about 20 trillion yuan or $2.74 trillion, while expenditures will reach 40 trillion yuan or $5.48 trillion. A significant portion of the spending is on debt issuance, including local government bonds and national debts. This reliance on borrowing to cover expenditures indicates that China is essentially borrowing money to survive. In summary, Zhai warned that China's economy no longer has the essential industries or revenue sources it once relied on. With industries like real estate and foreign trade rapidly declining, he questioned the future of China's currency, which has become increasingly decoupled from the country's economic reality. As China faces mounting economic challenges and increasing capital flight, the forecast for 2025 is bleak. Experts predict a significant devaluation of the Chinese yuan, further exacerbated by the mass exit of foreign capital. With China's foreign exchange reserves increasingly insufficient and its core industries faltering, the country may soon face an economic crisis of unprecedented scale. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. We will keep reporting on the COVID surge in China, so don't forget to subscribe to our channel and turn on the notification bell to get the latest videos. And thank you for tuning in.