China adoption fallout: US lawmakers urge Biden to help families after Beijing ends scheme

US lawmakers are pushing President Joe Biden to intercede on behalf of American families whose child-adoption process in China was under way when Beijing closed off the programme to foreigners about two months ago.

In an open letter, the 103 lawmakers comprising Democrats and Republicans, appealed for the families who were “left in a state of uncertainty about the completion of their adoption” from China.

They also voiced concern for the Chinese children already matched with the American families. Beijing in late August said foreign adoptions from China would no longer proceed.

Some 300 children on the mainland, many of whom are disabled, had been matched with adoptive families in the US when the ban was announced.

Lawmakers and others have argued that this could be the children’s last chance to to be cared for by a family, as their chances of being adopted domestically are low.

“We request that you act in the best interest of these children and families by urging the PRC to fulfil and uphold the commitment the country has made,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Biden.