Kenneth Glad
A growing number of wealthy Chinese clients are seeking surrogacy arrangements in the United States to expand their families. Because the practice is restricted at home, some are turning to American fertility clinics and surrogate mothers. In a handful of cases, the scale has drawn international attention.
The United States has become the world’s largest centre for commercial surrogacy. The Conversation France wrote, citing industry estimates, that the global market was worth about $22.4 billion in 2024, with roughly $17.47 billion tied to the U.S. alone.
Foreign demand plays a large role in that market. Research published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility found that between 2014 and 2020 nearly half of gestational surrogacy births in the United States involved intended parents from outside the country.
Chinese clients represented the largest share. The study estimated that 41.7 percent of those births involved intended parents from China.
The financial costs are significant. A typical surrogacy arrangement in the United States can range from about $120,000 to $150,000 and sometimes approaches $200,000 once IVF procedures, legal services, agency fees, egg donation and payments to surrogate mothers are included.
California has become one of the industry’s key centres. The Conversation France cited estimates that more than 100 surrogacy agencies run by Chinese entrepreneurs operate in Southern California, many catering primarily to wealthy Chinese clients.
Why some Chinese parents go abroad
China banned surrogacy in 2001, though the prohibition mainly targets clinics and medical professionals rather than intended parents themselves.
The country’s demographic policies also provide important context. China’s decades-long one-child policy, introduced in 1979 to slow population growth, shaped family planning for an entire generation before authorities gradually loosened restrictions in the 2010s.
Even after the policy was relaxed, birth rates continued to fall. Analysis by the Pew Research Center has noted that China now faces a rapidly aging population and declining fertility, trends that have reshaped the country’s demographic outlook.
For wealthy individuals seeking larger families, the United States offers a more permissive legal and medical environment.
Under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, most children born on American soil automatically receive American citizenship. In addition, several states provide legal clarity for intended parents. Courts in states such as California can issue pre-birth parentage orders, recognizing intended parents as the child’s legal guardians even before delivery.
American fertility clinics also offer advanced reproductive technologies, including genetic testing of embryos before implantation, which can reveal a child’s sex.
The billionaire example
Some cases have pushed the trend into the spotlight.
In December, The Wall Street Journal reported that Xu Bo, a Chinese billionaire in the video-game industry, says he has fathered more than 100 children through surrogacy arrangements in the United States.
The newspaper reported that other wealthy Chinese men have pursued similar strategies, sometimes purchasing dozens of egg donations from women such as models or university graduates, and in some cases speaking openly about ambitions to build what they called “unstoppable family dynasties.”
Growing scrutiny
The rapid expansion of cross-border surrogacy has begun to attract political attention.
In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship for certain children born to non-citizens. Courts are still reviewing the measure, and it remains unclear how it might affect children born through surrogacy arrangements.
Some U.S. lawmakers have also urged federal authorities to investigate whether large-scale international surrogacy arrangements could involve immigration fraud or other legal violations.
The debate extends beyond the United States. In 2025, UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem warned in a report to the United Nations General Assembly that commercial surrogacy raises concerns about the exploitation of women and the commodification of children.
The trend highlights how global wealth, reproductive technology and immigration policy are increasingly intersecting in the international fertility industry.
Sources: The Conversation France, The Wall Street Journal, Fertility and Sterility, Pew Research Center, United Nations.
