S2E41: Rich men and pretty women: Glimpses at a matchmaking event in China

Sep 4, 2025

14:22

forum

Ask episode

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

Single Chinese want to find love, but remain straitjacketed by expectations of what their partners should look like.

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in.

Inequality is at play in China’s singles market in more ways than one.

In China, the number of men outstrip that of women, and yet, they find it far easier to find marriage partners.

At the same time, both genders are trapped by familial and their own expectations to marry within the same social bracket, in the face of a growing divide between the elites and the broader generation.

China correspondent Michelle Ng unpacks the dynamics with host and ST foreign editor Li Xueying.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:49 Attending a matchmaking event in Beijing

2:55 Screening for income

5:40 A paradox in the marriage market

9:04 Anxiety of the rich

12:29 Lack of social mixing

Read Michelle Ng’s article here: https://str.sg/jMu4

Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR

Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x

Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani