The Chinese government has adjusted its policy on international adoption. In the future, no more children will be sent abroad for adoption except for adoption of relatives and stepchildren.
Since 1979, China has implemented a strict “one-child policy” nationwide. This family planning policy led to a large number of baby girls and children with disabilities being abandoned, who were taken in by orphanages. The CCP first allowed adoption of children by families abroad starting in the 1980s. In 2005 Beijing enacted a “Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.” That year, the number of international adoptions of Chinese children by foreign families peaked, with over 13,000 children adopted. In the past few years, China has moved to a “domestic adoption first” policy.
A post from the U.S. State Department’s ShareAmerica social media account on July 18 stated that American families have been the primary adopters of Chinese orphans since China opened up international adoptions in the 1980s. According to statistics from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, 82,658 Chinese children have been adopted by American families since the year 2000, accounting for 29.2 percent of all adoptions of foreign-born children by Americans. Adoptions of Chinese-born children by Americans have dropped to near zero since the COVID pandemic due to the CCP’s suspension of international adoptions.
Source: VOA, September 5, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-halts-foreign-adoptions-for-its-children-20240905/7772418.html