Children ride hoverboards at a kindergarten in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province on April 21, 2023. Photo: VCG

The Chinese government has recently adjusted its cross-border adoption policy. Henceafter, 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 by foreigners coming to China, China will not send children abroad for adoption. This adjustment not only respects the spirit of relevant international covenants, but is also an inevitable advance in China's social security system. 

Children in difficult circumstances are one of the most vulnerable social groups in need of care and protection. The adjustment of adoption policies reflects the Chinese government's commitment to protecting children's rights. The principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption emphasize ensuring the best interests of children, which aligns completely with China's commitment to developing children's services. Any policy adjustments regarding child rights protection are made with the utmost consideration of children's best interests, following thorough research, and will help better protect orphans' legal rights under new circumstances.

During the early period of reform and opening-up, China's economy was weak, with an annual per capita GDP of only a few hundred dollars. The living conditions of ordinary families were significantly behind those in Western countries, and the social welfare system was insufficient to support all orphans with the care and environment needed for their growth. Cross-border adoption provided a practical solution for some orphans to change their living conditions. For decades, cross-border adoption has generally provided many orphaned children with the warmth of a family in a foreign country. However, at the same time, some international adoption cases have unfortunately involved abuse, exploitation, and violence, which is deeply troubling.

Today, international adoption has fulfilled its mission in China. In recent years, China has adhered to the principle of "the best interests of the child" as outlined in intercountry adoption conventions and the principle of "the best interests of the adoptee" in the Civil Code of the country, while maintaining the practice of "domestic adoption as a priority."

Currently, domestic adoptions account for nearly 90 percent of the total number of adoptions. This means that even before the introduction of the new policy adjustment, cross-border adoptions had already been significantly declining. This is also consistent with the development trend of cross-border adoption in various countries. This decline is primarily due to the profound changes China has undergone over the past few decades. Rapid economic development has led to continuous improvements in the social welfare system. 

Increased government investment in education, healthcare, and social security has made significant progress in maintaining social fairness and justice, eliminating extreme poverty, and ensuring the wellbeing of the people, thereby laying a solid foundation for the shift in orphan adoption policies.

An undeniable fact is that comprehensive economic and social progress has significantly reduced the number of orphans in China. Statistics show that in 2013, there were 549,000 orphans nationwide. By the end of 2023, this number had dropped to 144,000. Consequently, the number of orphanages and other child welfare institutions has also decreased substantially.

Today, with China having comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society and with per capita GDP exceeding $10,000, improvements in healthcare have greatly reduced the incidence of newborn disabilities, and attitudes toward gender discrimination have also improved significantly. 

With the significant improvement in people's living standards and the continuous improvement of the social security system, Chinese people are increasingly willing to adopt orphans. Under such circumstances, it is logical to adjust the policy of cross-border adoption and cease the practice of sending children abroad for adoption.

In recent years, as China has made continuous progress in economic and social development, it has also increasingly explored a comprehensive social security system for orphans, significantly improving the living conditions of orphans, including disabled children. The average support standard for domestically raised orphans' basic living standards has reached 1,885.4 yuan per person per month. 

Local governments have also established a natural growth mechanism for the basic living guarantee of orphans based on their actual economic and social development. The country has strengthened the professional level of child welfare institutions, and continuously improved the integrated development of orphan care, medical care, rehabilitation, education, and social work. Some healthy orphans with mild disabilities have returned to their families and integrated into society through domestic adoption, family foster care, and "family-like" care. Some severely disabled orphans who are not suitable for family adoption can receive specialized medical rehabilitation within child welfare institutions.

In order to promote the return of disabled orphans to their families, the Chinese government introduced support service policies to encourage domestic families to adopt disabled orphans. 

In regions like Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Yunnan, Anhui, Guangdong, and Liaoning, mechanisms have been established to encourage adoptions, and activities such as the "Tomorrow Plan on Surgical Rehabilitation for Orphans with Disabilities," orphan education assistance, have reduced the burden on families adopting disabled children in terms of raising, medical rehabilitation, etc., so that disabled children can receive rehabilitation assistance and regain family warmth.

It can be said that with the solid advances of child welfare in China, adjustments to China's cross-border adoption policies have naturally followed. As long as one has some understanding of the relevant situation in China, he or she will not be surprised by the adjustment of the intercountry adoption policy, and there is no need to over-interpret it. Adjusting cross-border adoption policies is a reflection of China's overall development and progress, and also a reflection of China's continuous exploration of the protection and safeguarding of children's rights. We also hope that the international community will continue to work with China to advance global child welfare efforts, ensuring that every child can grow up in an environment of love and care.