‘Women in China want a house and a car’ so man looks for foreign wife and loses US$21,500 in scam

A father in northern China paid a service that introduced his son to an Indonesian woman, who agreed to the marriage

But two years later, the woman has not arrived in China, and the family suspects they were victims of fraud

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A man in accusing a matchmaking service in China of tricking him out of US$21,500. Photo: SCMP composite

Published: 6:30pm, 18 May 2022

A dispute over a failed matchmaking service has put the spotlight on marriage scams in China and rules that prevent businesses from connecting foreigners with single Chinese people.

Wu Zhimin, a father from Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei province in northern China, said he had turned to a matchmaking service two years ago owned by a man named Chen Junhong because his son was struggling to find a romantic partner.

“My friends and relatives introduced my son to women who all demanded that my family provide a house and a car, which our circumstances did not permit,” said Wu in an interview with Hebei Television.

“A matchmaker surnamed Chen told me his service could introduce foreign women to my son,” he recalled.

Wu Zhimin described his ordeal trying to find a romantic match for his son. Photo: Weibo

On October 8, 2019, Wu signed an agreement with Chen’s agency, which said it would assist Wu’s son in finding a wife for an introduction fee of 150,000 yuan (US$22,200) and demanded a deposit of 30,000 yuan (US$4,446) in advance.