Record number of foreign-Chinese marriages falling apart

China's Supreme People’s Court dealt with 5,272 cases involving non-Chinese partners in 2013, a 26 per cent increase from 2012.  

Disputes involving divorce, property rights and upbringing and access to children were the most common. The Supreme People’s Court has advised couples to be aware of foreign laws and potential cultural differences and to consider signing pre-nuptial agreements before tying the knot, China Daily reported on August 30.

Judge Liu Li of Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court believes that both the number of court cases involving Chinese-foreign partnerships and the value of property and assets in contention have risen sharply.

Recently, a Canadian man and Chinese woman appeared before her court contesting RMB5 billion in property and stocks. This case represents the largest financial dispute Chaoyang District People’s Court has ever dealt with.

“Divorce cases involving foreigners are challenging for courts because many countries are not bound by Chinese law or verdicts,” she said.

International discepancies can lead to problems finding litigants — sending judicial documents to foreign nationals who cannot provide accurate home addresses is a common issue — as well as bureaucratic delays in finalizing the divorce process.

Cultural differences can also lead to differences in expectations. A misunderstanding Judge Han Mei frequently sees is that, in many Western Countries such as the United States and Britain, the partner who is not granted custody of a child after a divorce is no longer the legal guardian. This is not the case in China.

 “We often handle cases where divorced Chinese mothers who don’t get custody of their children have brought the children back to China, but this isn’t allowed or legal if their divorce is recognized in Western countries,” she said. “Foreign fathers can appeal to the courts, claiming that the mother abducted the children.”

One particularly high-profile case involving foreign-Chinese partnership is that of Li Yang, known for his Crazy English language-learning method, and American ex-wife Kim Lee.

Although the case represented a landmark in women’s civil rights in China — Lee was subsidized for the mental and physical abuse she endured during the marriage — the divorce took more than two years to finalize, and the couple is still mired in property asset disputes. 

As the saying goes, "Mo Money, Mo Nationalities, Expect A Confusing Separation." Officials cited China's rapid economic development for the increase both in foreign-Chinese marriages and their dissolution.