China officially ends adoption program for foreign families

China has officially ended the international adoption program that had enabled tens of thousands of Chinese orphans and abandoned children to find new homes abroad.

Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that Beijing would in future only allow relatives of foreign citizens to adopt Chinese children.

“Except for the adoption of a child or stepchild from blood relatives of the same generation and up to the third degree by foreigners coming to China, China will not send children abroad for adoption. This is also in line with the spirit of relevant international agreements,” Mao said.

The first official international adoption was approved in China in 1985, and in 1992 a new law formalized the process by creating a framework that allowed foreign families to come to China to adopt children.

Since then, tens of thousands of Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families, with the United States leading the world in adopting children abroad.