Edited by Editorial Spectrum.
«--[· Preface ·]--»
Starting from September 15th, our country Unilateral visa-free trial for Russian passport holders for one year.This is not a small move, but to make it clear to the outside world: China has this spirit, there is this confidence, and foreign media generally interpreted this as a demonstration of the pattern of the great power.
Once this new rule is implemented, Russians with ordinary passports can come directly to China, whether to do business, travel, or just go through the transit, do not need to run the visa set, a single stay can last for a month.
On September 5, Putin soon responded to the news. Appreciating this initiative,He said that mutual visa waiver can greatly promote diplomatic exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, and that the Russian side will seriously consider reciprocal measures.
In a good voice from the outside, Russian lawmaker Zhulowa put forward a different view, she directly said that if later a two-way visa exemption, Chinese men could. They will enter Russia in large numbers, not just to look at the landscape or to shop, and even to find objects.
The marriage and love markets of the two countries are naturally complementary
Zhulova's worry is not casual, but based on reality. China and Russia do present completely different situations in gender structure, and it can even be said that "one is more and the other is less".
Look at China, the imbalance in the proportion of men and women is already an old problem, but the annual report issue has not been completely resolved, and it is expected that by the end of this year, the entire population will be able to find a solution. There are 33 million more men than women in China,This number sounds a bit abstract, but it’s intuitive to put pressure on the marriage market once it’s put.
In the most crucial stage of the 25 to 35 years, it should be a good time to get married to a family, but the number of single men in China is close to 18 million, in other words, it is not easy for mature men to marry their daughter-in-law, the reality is that the number of men and women is less, and the marriage market is very fierce.
Looking at the whole country, There are more than 200 million single people in the age of marriage.And men make up the majority, the result is, marriage competition is extremely fierce, a large number of men on the back of heavy marriage anxiety.
Looking back to Russia, the situation is quite the opposite, Russia has a long-standing "men's shortage" problem, the number of women is significantly higher than the number of men, this trend was evident in 2014, At that time, statistics showed that there were a full 10 million more women than men.
In that year, half of Russian women encountered difficulties in finding objects, up to 49 percent, and the problem of this imbalance between men and women remains to this day.
Especially in the marriage age group, the number of Russian women still far outweighs the number of men, and when choosing a partner, they often face the situation of "less people" and the marriage space is not as spacious as the outside world imagines.
The bride price gap is alarming
The demographic structure is only a superficial phenomenon, and the personal choice of marriage is the money pocket and lifestyle, especially in the matter of marriage, the gap between China and Russia is very real.
In China, marriage often means huge economic pressures. Bride price, buying a house, and buying a car have almost become hard conditions.Without this, it is difficult to enter the door of marriage.
The data shows, The national average lottery amount is approximately RMB 140,000.And in some places far more than this number, hundreds of millions of cases are also rare, for many young men from ordinary families, this money is a mountain on the body.
A house and a car are a must. Without at least one suite, it is difficult to make the other family nod. Plus the follow-up expenses such as weddings, banquets, and decorations, it is astronomical if you calculate it casually. Many young people have to collect money to get married while carrying mortgages.The heavy burden discourages many people.
And in Russia this all seems to be a lot of ease, there is no concept of wedding gifts in the local customs, wedding spending is also very restrained, a couple of new people if only go a basic process, Three thousand yuan can be done.Buying a ring and a few bouquets of flowers is enough.
This is a marked contrast to the hundreds of thousands of Chinese weddings, and in Russia marriage is more like a decision of two people than an economic dispute between a family.
What's more interesting is that some local governments in Russia will provide additional benefits, such as giving away land, in order to encourage foreign men to start families locally. The area can even reach 15 acres and will also be granted a certain living subsidy.
This huge economic gap is undoubtedly a powerful driving force for transnational marriage.
Chinese boys become potential stocks
In addition to the differences in economic pressure, changes in cultural concepts and personal image are also quietly affecting Russian women’s marriage standards.
In the past, many Russian women have some opinions about the men in their country, drinking drunk and drunk, big masculinism serious, not willing to care for the family,These impressions are deeply rooted in their hearts.
Some even say that marrying a man in the country is equivalent to having a large child, such an idea makes many Russian women feel that the men in the country are not dependent, and marriage is not guaranteed.
In contrast, the overall image of Chinese men is turning in a good direction. In the early years, many foreigners felt that Chinese men were introverted, dull and unexpressive.
But now the situation has changed, with more and more exchanges, Russian women discover that Chinese guys are actually willing to take responsibilities, and to the family, too. Especially in sharing housework and taking care of children, the attitude is more serious,These advantages are precisely tapping their pain points.
After all, for many Russian women, a family-oriented and responsible partner is more important than rhetoric. This change in impression is not empty talk, and data can prove it.
A Russian dating platform called Mamba conducted a survey this year, and the results were quite unexpected. Among female users aged 25 to 35, Actually, 42% made it clear that they were willing to associate with Chinese boys.
This is no longer an individual psychological attempt, but a really emerging trend, in other words, transnational marriage is gradually turning from the choice of a minority to a group phenomenon in which more and more people are willing to participate.
Different concepts of marriage
The news of the visa-free policy came out, the port of the Black River in the Chelongjiang River immediately became bustling, Russian tourists crowded to China, shipping tickets sold quickly, The route from Heihe River to Blagoveshchensk on the other side was emptied in a few hours.
In order to welcome these guests, the local shops fire up the new Russian menu, also broadcast Russian radio in the store, afraid of greeting, the street atmosphere is like a festival, the flow of people to the gate is drained with water.
Though transnational marriages may seem bustling, people who really take this path will find that the first difficulty they encounter is language, which is much more complicated than they might have imagined.
The daily communication of many Chinese and Russian couples is inseparable from translation software. According to a survey, Nearly six-fifths of transnational couples acknowledge that there are problems with exchanges.A small contradiction may be magnified because you can't understand or explain it clearly.
The difference in diet is also a big problem, the Chinese are accustomed to hot meals, while many Russians prefer cold dishes, Chinese guys want to make a pot of bone soup, Russian girls may prefer to come with a little cold meat and bread.
In addition to the large proportion of meat in the Russian diet, more protein, consumption costs are naturally high, and over time these differences will be manifested in diesel salt.
Differences in living habits are one of the problems of transnational marriages, and many Russian women value personal space and are not accustomed to living with their grandmothers. But it is common in three generations in China, and it is almost natural for the elderly to help bring children.
When the two ideas come together, it is easy to conflict, it is necessary to slowly discuss and adapt, in addition, transnational marriage also involves more real issues, such as which nationality will the child be with, in which country to go to school, and the old age retirement of both parents.
These problems are more difficult than eating and drinking water, and they can't be solved by a moment of enthusiasm. China took the lead in opening visa-free to Russia, which of course has political implications behind it.
During tensions between Russia and the West, China threw olive branches, which was both a geographical choice and showed confidence in opening up to the outside world, although Putin did not give a clear reciprocal visa exemption timetable. But a word “will think” is enough to hang up appetite.
In fact, the per capita income gap between China and Russia is not big, but in the eyes of many Russians, urban life in China is more convenient, and shopping, travel and medical care are smoother than those in their hometown.
Because of this, visa-free brought not only the tourist enthusiasm, but also more ordinary people's imagination of the future of transnational life, transnational marriage will not necessarily be the choice of the majority, but it reflects demographic pressure, economic reality and cultural differences, but makes this topic more and more concerned.