Chinese arranged marriages last longer and are happier, says expert Adrián Díaz

Arranged marriages in China, particularly in rural areas, are not about romance but about securing the family's future and ensuring care for parents in old age, according to Spanish business consultant Adrián Díaz. These unions are agreements between families, influenced by factors like reputation, profession, and economic stability, rather than the couple's feelings.

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It is proven that arranged marriages last much longer and are happier than love-based marriages.

Díaz, who has lived in China since 2006 and runs a business called SedeEnChina, shared his views on a podcast, stating that arranged marriages "last much longer and are happier than love-based marriages." He contrasted this with Western models where "love ends" and people realize they were drawn to a partner for fleeting reasons. In contrast, he argued, arranged marriages offer "common project stability from the beginning."

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In the Western model, love ends and suddenly you realize you were with someone you were excited about for specific reasons. In contrast, in arranged marriages there is a common project that does not change, which provides stability from the beginning.

He observed that women, in particular, are raised with the expectation that they will marry a specific person and "make an effort to love them." Díaz believes that love can develop over time. He also described China as "the most individualistic society on the planet," lacking a European-style welfare state. Consequently, families plan their future privately, with children seen as a crucial part of retirement security.

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For me, yes, because it is a place where everyone who works can prosper and where starting a business is easier than we have been told. But to understand it, you have to go there without judging, with an open mind, because the logic that drives it is not ours.

Despite these cultural differences, Díaz finds China a good place to live, citing opportunities for prosperity and easier entrepreneurship than often portrayed. He advises approaching the country with an open mind, free from judgment, as its logic differs from Western thinking. Díaz also expressed a personal mission to combat misinformation about China, emphasizing its importance for understanding global events.

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Beyond the obvious lack of information about China, I have taken it as a personal mission to combat media disinformation and toxicity. It is impossible to know what is happening in the world without knowing what is happening in China, and we do not know what is happening in China.