China is putting end to adoptions by foreigners of minors from their country, leaving hundreds of pending requests. From the 1990s, China had given inadoption of thousands of children, especially to the United States, where the one-child policy forced many families to give their children up for adoption.
However, in the last decades, the rise of the economy and the reduction in the number of births has made the adoptions have also decreased, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, the Chinese government has decided to end these programs in the face of the evident demographic crisis.
Uncertainty for families in the midst of the adoption process
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that No more children would be given up for adoption to foreign parents, a exception whether these foreigners are blood relatives of China. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also expressed her gratitude for the willingness of foreigners to adopt Chinese children.
This measure implies the existence of a great uncertainty for families Americans who are in the process of adoption, so the US embassy in Beijing is asking for clarification on the matter. “We understand that there are hundreds of families still waiting to complete their adoption, and We sympathize with their situation,” the US State Department said.
30% of adoptions between 1999 and 2023 were by Americans
Since China began its international adoption program, More than 160,000 children have been adopted worldwide, about half of them by US families, concentrating almost 30% of adoptions between 1999 and 2023. During the pandemic in 2020, China paralyzed adoptions for “ensure health and safety”, In fact, between 2021 and 2022 no children were given up for adoption.
Beijing eliminated the ‘one child’ policy because the population had aged very quickly due to this measure, significantly affecting the economy and society of the entire country. Therefore, since 2015, decided allow to have two children, which led to a slight rebound in 2016, although the rate continued to decline.
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Therefore, in 2021 allowed the families Chinese have three children, even granting facilities such as strengthening maternity leave or offering tax deductions, among others. Although these measures still without giving results.
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