China Intensifies Crackdown on Excessive ‘Bride Prices’
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China’s Supreme People’s Court has issued a fresh warning against the practice of demanding excessive betrothal gifts, intensifying a state campaign to curb costly wedding customs that authorities say are destabilizing families and imposing crushing financial burdens.
In a press briefing Monday, the high court reiterated the legal principle prohibiting the “exaction of property through marriage.” The move addresses the traditional custom of caili — cash or assets paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s — which has spiraled into bidding wars in some regions, creating a barrier to marriage in a country struggling with demographic decline.
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- China’s Supreme People’s Court is intensifying efforts to curb excessive betrothal gifts, targeting practices driving financial burdens and demographic challenges.
- New legal guidelines clarify distinctions between voluntary gifts and illegal demands, penalize fraudulent “flash marriages,” and require matchmaking agencies to refund unfulfilled high-fee contracts.
- Recent family law reforms address property disputes, strengthen protections against domestic violence (over 25,000 orders since 2021), and regulate abuse of AI and cyberbullying.
- 2021：
- China’s Civil Code was implemented.
- Since 2021：
- Courts in China have issued more than 25,000 personal safety protection orders.
- 2021–2026：
- China’s judiciary handled nearly one million personality rights cases.
- 2024：
- The Supreme People’s Court established specific judicial interpretations to standardize court handling of disputes over betrothal gifts.
- Since 2024：
- The Supreme People’s Court released several batches of typical cases to guide lower courts in distinguishing between romantic gifts and transactional extortion.
- 2025：
- Broader adjustments to family law were made, including invalidating property gifts to extramarital partners and standardizing division of property funded by parents during divorce.
- 2025 and 2026：
- Court rulings expanded the definition of domestic violence to include psychological abuse and recognized children witnessing violence as victims.
- By 2026：
- The central government’s 'No. 1 Document' for 2026 marks the sixth consecutive year prioritizing reform of rural wedding customs.
- Monday, March 2, 2026：
- The Supreme People’s Court reiterated the legal principle prohibiting exaction of property through marriage in a press briefing.
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