The Chinese government is ending its international adoption program, and the US is seeking clarification on how the decision would affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.
In a telephone call with US diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause.
The US embassy is seeking clarification in writing from the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, the US Department of State said on Thursday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathize with their situation,” the state department said.
At a daily briefing on Thursday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said that China is no longer allowing foreign adoptions of the nation’s children, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild.
She did not explain the decision other than to say that it was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions.
Many foreigners have adopted children from China over the decades, visiting the nation to pick them up and then taking them to a new home overseas.
US families have adopted 82,674 children from China, the most from any foreign nation.
China suspended international adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government later resumed adoptions for children who had received travel authorization before the suspension in 2020, the state department said in its latest annual report on adoptions.
A US consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China from October 2022 through September last year, the first in more than two years, the state department report said.
It was not clear if any more visas had been issued since then.
Denmark’s only overseas adoption agency in January said that it was winding down operations after concerns were raised about fabricated documents and procedures, while Norway’s top regulatory body recommended stopping overseas adoptions for two years pending an investigation into several cases.
Beijing’s announcement has also followed a falling birthrate in the nation. The number of newborn babies fell to 9.02 million last year, and the overall population declined for the second consecutive year.
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