US lawmakers urge Trump to address pending adoptions from China when he meets Xi

Nearly 270 American families who had already been in the process hope ‘children may finally be united’ stateside with prospective parents

Reading Time:3 minutes

US lawmakers said families seeking to unite with their adoptive children were devastated by China’s decision to halt its international programme. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:40am, 16 Mar 2025Updated: 4:40am, 16 Mar 2025

Corrected [4:37am, 16 Mar, 2025]

[4:37am, 16 Mar, 2025]
An earlier version of this story said that two letters were sent to Biden in November last year. Only one was sent in November; the other was sent in December. This has been corrected.

A bipartisan group of American lawmakers on Saturday called for US President Donald Trump to address pending adoptions from China when he next meets President Xi Jinping, urging the US leader to press Beijing to uphold commitments made before a recent policy change.

Last September, China abruptly ended its decades-long international adoption programme, leaving nearly 270 American families who had already been in the adoption process for years in a state of uncertainty.

“We urge you to elevate this engagement and press the Chinese government to finalise pending adoption cases so these children may finally be united with their adoptive families in the United States,” said the letter to Trump, led by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, a bicameral caucus, and Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa.

The caucus is co-chaired by two US senators – Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat – and two US congressmen – Robert Aderholt, an Alabama Republican, and Danny Davis, an Illinois Democrat.

US senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, co-chairs a bipartisan congressional effort asking China to revive its international adoption process. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

The letter, signed by 105 lawmakers, stated that most of the affected children have special healthcare needs and that some would soon age out of care systems without the support of a permanent family.