The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the U.S. is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.

In a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause. The embassy is seeking clarification in writing from China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

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

At a daily briefing Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said China is no longer allowing foreign adoptions of the country's children, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild.

She didn't explain the decision other than to say that it was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions.

Many foreigners have adopted children from China over the decades, visiting the country to pick them up and then bringing them to a new home overseas.

U.S. families have adopted 82,674 children from China, the most from any foreign country.

China suspended international adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government later resumed adoptions for children who had received travel authorization before the suspension in 2020, the U.S. State Department said in its latest annual report on adoptions.

A U.S. consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China from October 2022 through September 2023, the first in more than two years, the State Department report said. It wasn't clear if any more visas had been issued since then.

In January, Denmark’s only overseas adoption agency said it was winding down operations after concerns were raised about fabricated documents and procedures, and Norway’s top regulatory body recommended stopping overseas adoptions for two years pending an investigation into several cases.

Beijing's announcement also has followed falling birth rates in the country. The number of newborn babies fell to 9.02 million in 2023, and the overall population declined for the second consecutive year.