Foreigners attracted by efficient system and strong oversight

China remains the United States' most accessible source of adoptions from overseas, thanks to an efficient system and strong oversight of orphans, according to two experts. They spoke as the number of foreign adoptions by US families fell to the lowest level in three decades. However, 2,354 Chinese children were adopted by US citizens last year, a 15 percent increase from 2014. The figure accounted for 42 percent of all foreign adoptions in the US, according to the US Department of State. According to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of international adoptions has remained steady in recent years, with between 10 and 15 percent of children adopted by overseas families since 2009.

While foreign adoptions comprise only a small proportion of those in China - about 12 percent in 2014 - most children who are taken in by overseas homes have special needs and are adopted by families for charitable reasons, said Tong Xiaojun, head of the Children's Research Institute of China.