China’s One Child Policy and a cultural preference for male children means there is a surplus of bachelors in the country.

Single men in their prime will still number 30-35 million until 2020, at which time the gender ratio will be severely imbalanced, according to an analyst.

A prominent economist and academic, Xie Zuoshi, has proposed that China allow same-sex marriage to make up for the country’s gender imbalance as some homosexuals take wives to conform to society’s conventions.

Allowing same-sex marriage, Xie says, would take millions of gay men out of the dating pool and free up more wives for heterosexuals.

Xie also suggested that women could take multiple husbands. “If legalised, polyandry would be a perfect solution for satisfying the sexual needs of 30 million single men – which might be one of the key factors contributing to social unrest,” he said.

Xie also proposed that men will have to go abroad to seek wives and that legalizing prostitution would mean that those men who find themselves unable to settle down and start a family can at least satisfy their sexual needs