For all of the above.  The women here are just like the women all over the world and different groups date for different reasons.  Some hope to fall in love and find her soulmate.  Some see it as the first step to the picture perfect family that society wants them to be. Some see it as a way to escape from their  current lives.  Some just don't want to be alone on Friday night.  And some are just gold diggers.  

If you're only dating the girls that you find at the expat bars then of course a higher percentage will be from the last groups.

To The Dude:

In my opinion, real true love is unknown to Chinese.  It just does not exist. 

In our society, it is no longer "you" and "me" and "us" begins.  Here, there is no notion of "us" that I can see.  Traditional or modern, most women here seek finnacial stability and a better life, and somehow they think that will come automatically if going abroad.   So, they are willing to marry you as the only way to get a visa and a ticket out of China.

I have yet to find a "love" as I will like it to be.  Most, so far, seem to want some sort of sugar daddy, even if marriage is involved, so she and her relatives have a better quality of life at your expense. 

From the times in China that all marriages were "arranged", and couples did not meet until the wedding day, local society has accepted the general idea that love is not a requirement for marriage.

In my eyes, and extremely unfortunate, this is my experience so far.

That is like saying, "What is foreign men's real motives with Chinese women?"

Different people want different things.  Some guys come here just for sex and have no intentions of staying or having a Chinese wife.  Some come here to find their soulmate.  Some are even lucky enough to find their soulmate.

Of course, the ones that make me laugh the most are the guys who come here looking for the "docile, submissive China doll" to be their wife.  After 5 years here I have still to meet any girl who is docile or submissive. 

Yeah I think the love thing can be dead in the water from the first moment here when the first question you are asked is: "How much do you earn?" followed by: "How old are you?" I had a woman here the other day and she said to me after we met 10 minutes earlier after some online chat: You have no house, no money, no car you are a poor teacher. We will not get married!" Too right lady. Piss off!! Sheesh?