ISTANBUL, Sept 7 – China has announced the end of foreign adoptions of its children, Anadolu Agency reported.
Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the country’s Foreign Ministry, said Beijing will “no longer send children abroad for adoption.”
“Henceforth, apart from the adoption of a child or stepchild from one’s collateral relatives by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship, China will not send children abroad for adoption by foreigners coming to China,” Mao told reporters on Thursday.
“We express our appreciation to those foreign governments and families, who wish to adopt Chinese children, for their good intention and the love and kindness they have shown,” said Mao, according to a transcript of her news conference.
Since China opened to international adoption in 1992, over 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by families worldwide.
Beijing’s decision comes as China’s population began shrinking in 2022 for the first time in six decades.
