If you cannot raise a child, seek a lawful civil-affairs process; do not sell or abandon the child
There is a lawful route when eligible parents cannot raise a child: contact civil affairs directly about assistance and a legally permitted adoption. An adoption relationship begins with registration. Privately handing a child over for money may amount to child trafficking, with a basic sentence starting at five years. Abandoning a child or refusing a support duty in grave circumstances can carry up to five years.
What it takes
The adoption-registration application described is free, but requires documents, review, and an adoption assessment through a county-level or higher civil-affairs department.
What you may gain
Criminal Law Article 240 punishes trafficking in women or children with five to ten years and a fine, at least ten years or life plus a fine or confiscation for aggravating circumstances, and death with confiscation for especially serious circumstances. Paragraph 17 of the 2010 joint guidance distinguishes selling one’s own child from an informal placement by the purpose of unlawful profit. It identifies giving birth as a means of selling children; handing over a child for money while knowing the recipient does not intend to raise the child, or disregarding that question; and receiving a large sum clearly beyond modest nutrition or gratitude expenses. An informal placement genuinely driven by hardship without a profit motive and involving only small such payments is distinguished from trafficking, although it does not replace lawful adoption procedures. Criminal Law Article 261 punishes grave refusal to support an older, young, ill, or otherwise dependent person by someone with a duty of support with up to five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance. Civil Code Article 1094 identifies persons able to place a child for adoption: an orphan’s guardian, a child-welfare institution, or birth parents with special difficulties making them unable to raise the child. Article 1105 requires registration with county-level or higher civil affairs; the adoption relationship begins on registration.
Context & considerations
This entry does not address whether to have a child. After birth, use formal care and documentation. Deliver in a medical facility and obtain the birth medical certificate needed for later procedures; see pregnancy and childbirth. For adoption, contact civil affairs directly rather than an intermediary. Money changing hands can alter the legal character of the arrangement. Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby during the first postpartum year require urgent help; see pregnancy and postpartum warning signs, the 42-day review and depression screening, and 12356 for suicidal thoughts. The original did not verify individual official cases of selling one’s biological child and therefore cites the legal texts without a case example.
Research & references
National People’s Congress (1997). Criminal Law, Articles 240 and 261. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180206_364975.shtml; Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice (2010). Opinions on trafficking in women and children, document 2010 No. 7, paragraph 17. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/977.html; National People’s Congress (2020). Civil Code, Articles 1094 and 1105, adoption provisions reposted by Yancheng’s government. https://xxgk.yczf.gov.cn/xzf/ycmzj/fdzdgknr/fgwj_41995/202112/t20211203_1506640.shtml.