BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government is no longer allowing foreign adoptions of the country's children, a spokesperson said Thursday.

The only exception will be for blood relatives adopting a child or a stepchild, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said.

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.

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 in the 12 months 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.