Beth Alpert and her adopted daughter Yang Yingying also returned to Anhui at the same time looking for the girl's biological mother. Dai Wenxue / For China Daily

He hopes the US government can do more to help developing countries that don't meet the standards to develop such safeguards.

Phillips said more US families have become open to adopting children on the waiting list.

Three years ago, it would have been something of a shock if they had matched a child over 7 years old, "but now we do that on a regular basis," she said.

Contact the writer at hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com