- China warns citizens against illegal matchmaking services in Bangladesh due to legal risks
- Chinese embassy in Bangladesh cautions about arrest and severe penalties for trafficking
- Human trafficking in Bangladesh can lead to up to life imprisonment or death penalty
China has warned its citizens against using illegal matchmaking services to find brides in Bangladesh, saying such activities could lead to serious legal consequences and expose people to scams and trafficking risks, reported the South China Morning Post.
China's embassy in Bangladesh joined several Chinese diplomatic missions in warning citizens about using brokers or agencies to arrange marriages in the South Asian country. The embassy said that anyone travelling to Bangladesh to find a wife through such services could face arrest on suspicion of human trafficking.
The embassy said that under Bangladeshi law, a person convicted of human trafficking faces a minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of at least US$4,100 (Rs 3,95,015). It added that the punishment could be as severe as life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
It also said that less serious trafficking-related offences, including instigating the crime, carry prison terms of three to seven years along with a fine of up to 20,000 taka (Rs 15,612).
According to the embassy, there had been a rise in cross-border marriage scams involving Chinese nationals. It said international marriages must be built on mutual consent and genuine affection, adding that buying brides often resulted in financial extortion and physical danger.
The warning comes as Beijing remains increasingly concerned about the international matchmaking market, which is banned in China. The black market has expanded partly because of the country's gender imbalance, with the 2020 national census estimating that China has around 17.5 million more men of marriageable age than women.
Chinese authorities have been stepping up efforts to protect foreign citizens from marital trafficking while also preventing Chinese nationals from losing large amounts of money to international marriage scams. Over the past few years, Chinese embassies and consulates in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Pakistan, and Nepal have also issued warnings against marriage fraud.
Beijing has also intensified its crackdown on trafficking-related crimes. According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, authorities arrested 1,546 people between January 2024 and March 2025 for criminal activities linked to human trafficking and fraudulent matchmaking schemes.
In some cases, Chinese men who paid tens of thousands of yuan to find a wife later discovered that their foreign brides had disappeared. In other cases, women were kidnapped and forced to marry Chinese men.
