The Chinese government is ending a program that allows international families to adopt children from the country this week.

According to the Associated Press (AP), in a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it "will not continue to process cases at any stage" except for blood relatives adopting a child or stepchild.

The State Department said on Thursday that the embassy is seeking clarification in writing from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.

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"We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathize with their situation," the State Department said.

"This is in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions," China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a news conference. "We are grateful for the desire and love of the governments and adoptive families of relevant countries to adopt Chinese children."

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Since 1999, American parents have adopted over 80,000 children from China, according to statistics from the State Dept, making up about 29% of all U.S. overseas adoptions. Adoptive parents would typically visit the country to pick the child up and then bring them back to their home overseas.

Before halting adoptions completely, the Chinese government had suspended international adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no adoptions from China in 2021 and 2022, State Department data shows.

Last year, 16 children were adopted from China.

The Chinese government allowed adoptions for children who received travel consent before the suspension in 2020, the AP reported.

The development comes as China grapples with a decline in birth rates after decades of enforcing a strict "one child" policy.