China’s Kinship Focus: Redefining Ties with Overseas Relatives | The Straits Times

In September 2025, Aw Ban Soon, a 65-year-old Singaporean, returned to Anxi county in China’s Fujian province, unsure whether to offer red envelopes – traditional cash gifts – to relatives he hadn’t seen in over three decades. The hesitation stemmed not from a lack of generosity, but from a shifting economic reality that is redefining the relationship between overseas Chinese communities and their ancestral families.

For generations, remittances from overseas Chinese, including those in Singapore, were a vital lifeline for families in China. However, China’s dramatic economic transformation since the late 1970s, lifting over 800 million people out of poverty according to World Bank standards, has altered this dynamic. Relatives who once relied on financial support are now largely self-sufficient, reshaping family ties from obligation to kinship based on personal choice.

Mr. Aw’s initial trip to Anxi in 1989, accompanied by his father, involved bringing practical gifts like medicine, powdered glucose, a refrigerator, and a water pump – items difficult to obtain in China at the time. These gifts were facilitated through the use of their Singaporean passports to access specialty stores. Thirty-six years later, the context had fundamentally changed. “Giving them red packets seems to be jumping the gun, and assuming they aren’t doing as well as us,” Mr. Aw explained, reflecting a common uncertainty among Singaporeans revisiting their ancestral roots, a process known as xun gen.

The shift is not merely economic. The nature of the connection itself is evolving. Rather than a unidirectional flow of support, the relationship is becoming one of mutual understanding. The Straits Times reported in February 2026 that Singaporean Chinese are increasingly focused on building connections based on shared heritage rather than financial assistance. This change is prompting a re-evaluation of traditional gift-giving customs.

Aw Cheng Wei, a reporter accompanying Mr. Aw on his 2025 visit, noted the family ultimately decided to “play it by ear,” setting aside a budget for red envelopes but also bringing alcohol and cigarettes – gifts still common in Chinese culture. The uncertainty highlights a broader trend among Singaporeans seeking to reconnect with their ancestral homes.

This evolving dynamic coincides with a growing focus on wealth transfer within China itself. As the Chinese middle class ages and the economy faces modern challenges, issues of inheritance and eldercare are becoming increasingly prominent, potentially leading to disputes over assets and challenging traditional norms of family harmony and filial duty. The implications of this internal wealth transfer remain to be seen, but it adds another layer of complexity to the changing relationship between overseas Chinese and their families in China.

Genealogy groups are also playing a role in facilitating these connections. One Singaporean-founded group has assisted members in tracing long-lost relatives, utilizing historical photographs and inscriptions to locate ancestral homes and family members in cities like Xiamen, Fujian.