The adoption of Chinese children by U.S. families has dropped by more than 70 percent in the last decade as the government has worked to promote domestic adoption.
In 2015, about 2,354 children were adopted by U.S. families from China, the world's largest origin of international adoptees in the last decade, read an Annual Report on International Adoptions released by the U.S. State Council in April, noting that the decline corresponds with a worldwide decrease in international adoptions from the country.
According to a Financial Times report on December 7, a total of 15,000 Chinese children - most of whom were little girls abandoned as a consequence of the family planning policy and a cultural preference for sons - were adopted by families from overseas in 2005 alone. The number, however, had dropped to 2,800 by 2014.
As the Chinese government has increased its efforts to promote domestic adoption in the last 10 years, 20,000 to 30,000 children are now placed domestically each year, said the U.S. international adoption report.
The U.S. report also noted a growing trend for the international adoption of children with special needs, referring to a clear change, with 95 percent of Chinese girls adopted by U.S. couples in 2005 being healthy, to more than 90 percent having special needs in 2015.
