The Chinese government said it would no longer send children abroad for adoption, overturning a more than three-decade-old rule that once underpinned its strict one-child policy.
Since China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, more than 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by families around the world.
About 82,000 of these children, mostly girls, have been adopted in the United States, according to China Children International (CCI).
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the Chinese government has adjusted its cross-border adoption policy in line with international trends.
“China will not send children abroad for adoption, except for the adoption of a child or stepchild of blood relatives of the same generation within three generations of foreigners coming to China,” Mao said.
“We express our gratitude to foreign governments and families who wish to adopt Chinese children for their good intentions and the love and kindness they have shown,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what would happen to families who are in the process of adopting children from China.
The rule change comes at a time when Chinese policymakers are struggling to encourage young couples to get married and have children after two consecutive years of population decline.
China has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and is trying to encourage young women to have children. However, many are holding back in their future outlook because of the high cost of childcare, concerns about job security and slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
China enforced a strict one-child policy from 1979-2015 to reduce its population. When families were limited to having only one child, many opted to keep boys, who are traditionally expected to be the main caregivers for their families, and gave up girls for adoption.
China’s move to halt international adoptions comes after the Netherlands in May banned its citizens from adopting children from foreign countries. In Denmark, people will no longer be able to adopt children from abroad after the only adoption agency said it was shutting down.
(Reporting by Farah Master and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
