Scandal: Poor American Women Are Forced to Give Birth to Children for Rich Chinese 0 21

A new major business has emerged in the U.S. — wealthy Chinese are being offered surrogacy services and subsequent child-rearing. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal. There are known cases where businessmen have fathered dozens of children in this way — and have never met them in person.

In 2023, a court in Los Angeles denied Chinese billionaire Xu Bo, owner of the gaming company Duoyi Network, recognition of paternity for several children carried by surrogate mothers. It turned out that he already has at least eight such children. In closed court hearings, Xu Bo stated that he intends to have 20 children in the U.S. using surrogacy. Several of his sons live in California, raised by nannies, and the businessman has never personally met them. Recognition of parenthood in surrogacy cases in American courts is a routine procedure, occurring almost automatically. The denial to the Chinese businessman was an extremely rare exception. Surrogacy is banned in China, while in the U.S., it is almost unregulated. Many wealthy Chinese take advantage of this. The business is so well organized that often clients do not even have to travel anywhere: special couriers deliver their sperm to the U.S., and then bring them the infants. Such a procedure can cost up to $200,000. The industry involves specialized clinics, as well as law firms and nanny agencies. A well-known American tech billionaire, Peter Thiel, has invested in one such network. Surrogacy is considered a crime in Italy. Xu Bo's case is special.

Judging by his social media, he has over 100 children. Moreover, he openly states that he prefers boys to be born because, in his opinion, they "excel" girls. Xu Bo is known, among other things, as a critic of feminism. He hopes that his numerous sons will inherit and continue his business in the future. Another Chinese entrepreneur, Wang Huiyu (company XJ International), purchased eggs from models and scientists and, with the help of surrogate mothers, became the father of ten girls. His plan is to marry them off to wealthy and influential men in the future. Since the children are born in the U.S., they receive American citizenship. A bill is already under consideration in Congress to prohibit the use of surrogacy in the U.S. by citizens of certain countries, including China. It is known that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have questioned some surrogate mothers who carried children for Chinese clients, but what exactly they were investigating and what they were asking is unclear. According to the recommendations of professional associations, IVF clinics should not conduct more than two parallel surrogacy programs for one client. But these are just recommendations — there are no effective restrictions. Some agencies take on large orders, charging $40,000 to $50,000 for each surrogate pregnancy. In China, stories about surrogacy periodically cause scandals. In 2021, there was a very high-profile court case between actress Zheng Shuang and her ex-boyfriend regarding custody of their children.

It turned out that the children were born by surrogate mothers in the U.S. Zheng Shuang's "indecent" behavior was even commented on by representatives of the Chinese Communist Party. The actress lost the case, ended up without a career, and soon went bankrupt. In 2023, Deputy Foreign Minister Qin Gang was dismissed and allegedly killed in prison after an internal investigation by the Chinese Communist Party revealed his extramarital affair. At that time, it also became known about a child born in the U.S. by a surrogate mother.