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Great expectations: Chinese women’s ideal man should earn 6,701 yuan a month – more than twice national average

Most mainland women also regard ownership of a property by any would-be suitor as a prerequisite for marriage, says new online dating survey

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A Chinese couple kiss while being recorded on video during a ceremony to celebrate receiving their marriage licence on Valentine's Day at a marriage registry office in Beijing, Photo: EPA
Nectar Gan

How much should a man earn to be considered as a potential partner in the eyes of Chinese women? More than twice what they actually pull in, according to a survey by an online dating site.

Jiayuan.com questioned more than 15,000 unmarried people about their views on the intersection of romance and money, and found the “fairer” sex has high expectations indeed.

Women wanted their partner to earn on average at least 6,701 yuan (US$1,028 or HK$8,005) a month if they were to consider them suitable. But in reality the national average of men is only 2,808 yuan.

READ MORE: Wedding scramble: end to China’s policy of holidays for ‘late marriages’ leads to dash for the registry

It also seems the younger the woman, the higher the salary they thought their partner should earn. Women born in the 1980s said their ideal boyfriend should earn a minimum of 6,993 yuan a month – the highest out of all age ranges.

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Those women born before 1970 had the lowest expectations and thought their partners should earn at least 5,201 yuan per month, said the survey published on Sunday – Valentine’s Day.

Chinese women born in the 1980s believe their ideal boyfriend should earn a minimum of 6,993 yuan per month. Photo: Reuters
Chinese women born in the 1980s believe their ideal boyfriend should earn a minimum of 6,993 yuan per month. Photo: Reuters
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Geographically, women in the southeast had the highest monthly salary demands for their partners – almost 7,400 yuan.

For men, they thought the average minimum monthly income of potential partners should be 3,398 yuan – women earned on average 1,940 yuan.

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