China has ended its international adoption program, leaving hundreds of American families seeking answers about their pending applications.
The U.S. State Department is working to clarify how this sudden policy change will impact those waiting to bring children home.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed on Thursday that China will no longer allow intercountry adoptions, except for blood relatives or stepchildren. The ministry did not elaborate on their decision, stating only that it aligns with international conventions.
“We express our appreciation to those foreign governments and families who wish to adopt Chinese children for their good intentions and the love and kindness they have shown,” she said.
On Wednesday, some U.S. adoption agencies shared letters from the State Department indicating that Chinese authorities had canceled all pending adoptions, except those with already issued travel authorizations. The State Department said it is seeking further clarification from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.
“We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathize with their situation,” the State Department said.
American families have adopted 82,674 children from China since the program began, making it the top foreign country for U.S. adoptions. However, lengthy delays meant that some families waited years to complete the process. Adoptions from China had been largely suspended since 2020 due to COVID-19. Shifts in China’s political, demographic and economic landscape had led many to anticipate an end or tightening of the policy.
The U.S. State Department noted that China resumed adoptions only for children with travel authorization before the suspension, though the numbers remained low. From October 2022 to September 2023, a U.S. consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China, the first in over two years. It is unclear if any further visas have been issued since.
The response to China’s announcement has been mixed. On social media, adoptive parents and adoptees expressed a range of emotions. Some feared the decision would close off opportunities for adoptees to connect with their birth families or former orphanages, while others felt it was overdue, hoping children would be cared for in their country of origin.
The Nanchang Project, a U.S.-based group that helps Chinese adoptees reconnect with biological families, described the policy change as “the end of an era,” noting that the program was “already on its way out” as the decline in adoptions from China predates the pandemic. The organization pointed to China’s improved economy, falling birthrates and a shift away from a preference for male children. China’s population has also been declining, with the number of newborns dropping to 9.02 million in 2023, marking the second consecutive year of population decrease. In response, China has introduced measures to encourage more births, ending the decades-long one-child policy that once fueled international adoptions.
For now, the future is uncertain for American families who had hoped to adopt from China, as they await further guidance from U.S. and Chinese officials.
