China’s Social Credit Systems: An Analysis of the Mate Selection Process of Chinese Women

Abstract

The latest events of establishing Social Credit Systems (SCSs) in China have received much attention, not only locally, but also on the international level. A lot has been written about the SCSs, putting the focus on the construction of big data platforms, surveillance control mechanisms and the reputational system etc. However, its social impact and its functions in the dating market in today’s China is an understudied topic. Its operation of selecting people by means of ‘value’ predicts major changes in the realm of the social fabric, such as the mate selection process of Chinese women. Today, women are still torn between traditional family patterns and their own choice concerning mate selection. From now on, women might have to take a third component into account, namely the integrity of their future life partner in terms of the SCSs. Using qualitative data of surveys and interviews, this dissertation investigates the influences of the SCS pilots in regard to the mate selection process of urban Chinese women to find out to what extent the SCSs have an impact on the partner selection in China.