Kiwi men jump up the charts in China

Chinese women prefer men in countries less likely to be hit by the financial crisis. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

New Zealand men have become the third most sought-after foreign husbands by Chinese women, a survey found.

A nationwide survey by the Chinese matchmaking agency hongniang.com shows that Chinese women considering foreign husbands now prefer men in countries which are not the wealthiest, but are less likely to be hit by the financial crisis.

The free-spending culture in rich societies like the United States is a cause for concern in these troubled times, and the respondents said they found New Zealand men to be less extravagant.

But the overall perception that foreign husbands are irresponsible in money management has also made them less attractive to women looking for security and stability.

Of the 4377 Chinese women polled between December and last month, only 16.8 per cent said "yes" to the idea of marrying a foreigner - a big fall from the 42.5 per cent of 6594 willing to marry foreign men in a similar survey done last September.

New Zealand, which didn't make the top eight last year, came third - behind Canada and top-of-the-chart Australia.

The United States fell from second before the crisis to fifth, and Japan, which was once fifth, fell off the list altogether.

A total of 68 per cent of the respondents indicated a preference for a local Chinese husband compared with 58 per cent in the previous survey.

The English-language China Daily said the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last September was the cause for this change of heart.

"This shows that with the impact of the financial crisis, women are more prudent in choosing a foreign partner, and the spending culture in Western countries worries them," said Fang Fang, a Hongniang agency spokesman.

"To a Chinese woman, a solid bank account promises real security, not an array of credit cards and easy loans - a belief shared too by most Chinese men," Ms Fang said in a CN Radio interview.

She said Chinese women also felt foreign husbands lacked family attachment, which they believed to be one of the main reasons for marriages failing.

Most popular foreign husbands among Chinese women:

1 Australia
2 Canada
3 New Zealand
4 Singapore
5 United States
6 South Korea
7 France
8 Netherlands