China has announced it will no longer send children abroad for adoption, ending a practice that began in 1992, Reuters reports.
This decision follows the reversal of China’s one-child policy, which led to over 160,000 Chinese children, mostly girls, being adopted globally, with around 82,000 of these adoptions taking place in the United States. The new policy only allows the adoption of children or stepchildren of blood relatives of foreigners who are within three generations. The impact on ongoing adoption processes is unclear.
The decision comes as China faces declining birth rates and seeks to encourage domestic childbearing. This move follows similar actions by other countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, which have also stopped international adoptions.
