100,000 Chinese kids adopted overseas

More than 100,000 Chinese orphans or children with disabilities have been adopted by families from overseas, according to China's Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption, Beijing News reported on Friday.

The center said China has established adoption agreements with 17 countries including United States, Canada, Sweden, France and Australia.

The Civil Affairs Ministry also announced on Thursday to establish an adoption evaluation system trial in Shanghai, Chongqing, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces. The system will take the adopters' motivation, economic condition, marital status and physical condition into consideration.

The statistics released by the ministry show the number of adoption cases in China declining over past years. In 2011, the number of registered adoption cases in China dropped by 9 percent, falling to 31,424, among which 27,579 adoptions were by Chinese families and 3,854 from overseas. .