Over 100,000 Chinese-born children adopted overseas

More than 100,000 Chinese-born orphans and children with physical disabilities have been adopted by overseas parents over the last 30 years, a government official said Wednesday.

Overseas adoption has become an important channel through which to find homes for orphaned and disabled children, said Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo at a ceremony held for 130 U.S. families and 200 adopted children who came back to China to "seek their roots."

Li said the adoption system has improved constantly in recent years, with an increasingly mature legal system and expanding social impact.

China has cemented adoption agreements with 138 government bodies and children's organizations in 17 countries.

Finding a family for the children does not mean the end of the government's work, Li said.

"The nation's care for these children will last throughout their growth," he said.

Most of the 200 children who attended the ceremony were adopted from children's welfare centers in the city of Chongqing and the provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Anhui and Fujian, according to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption.

The students will visit the cities of Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu and Guilin with their parents during their 10-day visit, which is being financed by the central government in a bid to encourage more adopted children to return to China and familiarize themselves with their native culture.