California surrogacy agencies are experiencing a rapid expansion driven by wealthy Chinese nationals seeking to have children in the United States, a trend that has drawn increased regulatory and public scrutiny. Haotian Bai, a 37-year-old U.S. Army veteran and founder of the Irvine-based Patriot Conceptions, operates a business that connects intended parents with American surrogates and egg donors. According to the New York Post, a significant portion of the agency’s international clientele originates from China, where commercial surrogacy is prohibited.
The industry has faced new attention following reports that a California surrogate, identified as “Judy,” discovered she was carrying a child for Chinese billionaire Xu Bo. Xu has reportedly fathered more than 100 children through U.S. surrogacy arrangements. Judy told CBS News that she responded to an Instagram advertisement offering $120,000 for surrogacy services and was initially told the intended parent was a single father seeking to expand his family. When she inquired about the number of surrogates hired, she was told the figure was close to two dozen.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators and immigration-focused critics have seized on the case to question the implications of birthright citizenship for children born to foreign nationals via surrogacy. The Wall Street Journal reported that wealthy Chinese clients are increasingly using American surrogacy services to secure U.S. citizenship for their children, despite commercial surrogacy being illegal in China. This trend has fueled arguments that the current system allows foreign elites to circumvent domestic restrictions while exploiting U.S. constitutional protections.
Supporters of the industry, including agency representatives, argue that the demand reflects a legitimate market response to restrictive laws in other countries. Haotian Bai, in a statement, said that surrogate concerns deserved to be taken seriously but disputed aspects of CBS’s reporting regarding Patriot Conceptions’ role. The agency maintains that it facilitated the journey but was not Xu’s only service provider, emphasizing that the business operates within the legal framework of California, which permits commercial surrogacy.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive critics and consumer advocates argue that the current regulatory framework fails to adequately protect surrogates from being misled about the scope of their clients' families. Judy stated she felt “blindsided” and “misled” after learning the full extent of Xu’s surrogacy efforts, noting that she repeatedly requested to meet him but never did. Advocates for surrogate rights have raised concerns about the power imbalance between wealthy international clients and American surrogates, particularly when agencies do not fully disclose the number of children a client is pursuing.
Former Hawaii state Rep. Matthew LoPresti, a Democrat, highlighted earlier issues involving Bai’s background, noting concerns about Chinese student internships in the Hawaii state legislature that were later shut down amid allegations regarding student placement and housing. These voices suggest that the rapid growth of the international surrogacy market requires stricter oversight to ensure transparency and ethical treatment of participants.
What the Numbers Show
A 2024 study by researchers at Emory University found that international intended parents accounted for nearly 40% of U.S. gestational-carrier cycles by 2019. From 2014 through 2020, 41.7% of international intended parents in the study were from China, making Chinese nationals the largest group among international clients. The demand is highly concentrated in California, where nearly 65% of gestational-carrier cycles involving international intended parents from 2014 through 2020 took place at California clinics.
The legal landscape remains a key factor in this market. In June, the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship for children born to parents who were unlawfully or temporarily present in the country, holding that the executive order violated the 14th Amendment. While this ruling did not specifically address surrogacy, the broader citizenship rule remains a significant driver of the international fertility market. Patriot Conceptions, founded in 2019, reported that international clients accounted for 40% of its business in a 2025 profile by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Bottom Line
The controversy surrounding Xu Bo and Patriot Conceptions highlights the tension between a growing international fertility industry and the lack of comprehensive federal regulation. Xu has disputed reports that he has more than 100 children, claiming custody of 12, though his company acknowledged the effort had produced “a little over 100” children. His former partner, Tang Jing, has claimed he may have as many as 300.
As the market continues to expand, policymakers and legal experts are watching to see if states like California will implement stricter disclosure requirements for agencies and intended parents. The case underscores the complexities of surrogacy law, which varies significantly by state, and the ongoing debate over how birthright citizenship interacts with reproductive technology. Future developments may depend on further legislative action or court rulings specifically addressing the rights and responsibilities involved in international surrogacy arrangements.