Representations and Regulations of Marriage Migration from Russia and Vietnam in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

Marriage migration has developed as a discursive field and a new direction of governing practices in the relations of post-Mao China with Russia and Vietnam. This article examines China's developing governing regime for international marriages from the perspective of its sovereign concerns related to border stability, population management, and national security. These concerns are considered through the analysis of material and affective processes informing and shaping the regulations and representations of marriage migration to China. This discussion not only shows how the Chinese state revises its administrative and legal terms of international marriage, but also highlights the historical, racialized, and gendered forces that shape the process. The regulatory framework of marriage migration is informed by the shifting structures of feeling shaping the contours of belonging in Chinese society. These intersecting spheres of state affective and regulatory practices signal new relations of power and inequality coalescing in China's relations with its neighbors.

Constructing ambivalent masculinity and constant femininity in interracial families: Media representations of African-Chinese marriage on Xiaohongshu

“…Transnational marriages in East and Southeast Asian countries are becoming increasingly common (Davin, 2007; Jones and Shen, 2008; Yeung and Mu, 2020). In Barabantseva and Grillot’s (2019) ethnographic study, they investigated public representations of transnational marriage involving culturally similar partners (Chinese and Vietnamese) and interracial marriage (Chinese and Russian), explaining how China’s rising number of mixed marriages is a reflection of the nation’s growing receptivity to international marriage. The study found that the gender imbalance in China is something that the Chinese government wants to rectify through international marriage.…”

“…The favourable perception of Russian women, who are seen as intelligent and deserving of high regard due to Russia’s historical reputation as a ‘great power’, also contributes to the favourable perception of marriages between Russians and Chinese. In contrast, Vietnamese brides usually come to China through human trafficking and illegal migration, and they are also constructed as ‘cheap women, gold-diggers, and vanishing brides’ (Barabantseva and Grillot, 2019: 295) by the Chinese media, shaping the public conception of Vietnamese women. This study offers a glimpse of the power imbalance of ideological perception in transnational marriage within Asia and interracial marriage involving Chinese and Russian partners.…”

Promoting and restricting marriage migrations: when marriages are not such a private matter

“…The media in Hong Kong portrays migrant women by marriage as lazy, irresponsible, and opportunistic (Newendorp, 2010). They are therefore viewed as representing a risk for nations such as Taiwan, Singapore, or Hong Kong that owe their recent success to the 'quality' of their population and identify themselves as elite centres with successful societies (Hsia, 2007;Cheng, 2013;Newendorp, 2008, p. 33), as well as for nations that are in the process of redefining their position on the international stage, such as China (Barabantseva & Grillot, 2019). The boundary between 'us' and 'them' is thus based more on considerations related to the level of education, and to the ability to carry out social and cultural reproduction, than on progressive considerations (gender relations in the couple, romantic marriage, etc.…”

Breaking all moulds? Racialized romance between white/yangwomen and Chinese men

“…The interest in foreign wives should be understood in the context of China’s marriage landscape which is characterized by its skewed sex ratio. Nearly four decades of one child-policy and enduring preference for sons have led to a relative lack of women of marriageable age (Driessen and Sier 2019 ), which has spurred Chinese men to look across borders to find brides (Barabantseva and Grillot 2019; Barabantseva 2021 ). China’s poorest farmers who lose out in Chinese marriage markets are reported to marry brides from countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and even Pakistan, whereas China’s richest men are described as being enabled by their wealth to cross racial boundaries and marry white/ yang women (Barabantseva and Grillot 2019 ).…”

“…7 At the same time, these women are considered as better suited for performing traditional gender roles in the Chinese family and ‘importing Russian brides’ is promoted at the state-level as a strategy for dealing with the fall-out from the relative low number of Chinese women of marriageable age. This is illustrated by an advertisement with the text ‘Russian wife + Chinese husband = ideal couple’ that circulated in Russian print media soon after Xi Jinping visited Moscow in May 2015 (Barabantseva and Grillot 2019 ). 8…”