California Surrogacy Agency Serves Wealthy Chinese Clients Seeking U.S. Citizenship for Children

<p>An Army veteran is operating a California surrogacy agency that assists wealthy Chinese nationals in having children through American surrogates, resulting in U.S. citizenship for the babies at birth.</p><p>Haotian Bai, a 37-year-old U.S. Army veteran and founder of the Irvine-based Patriot Conceptions, connects intended parents with American surrogates and egg donors. According to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/us-news/meet-the-us-army-vet-running-a-california-baby-factory-for-chinese-nationals-to-have-american-kids/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New York Post</span></a>, a significant portion of the agency’s international clientele comes from China, where surrogacy is prohibited.</p><p>The arrangement has attracted scrutiny after a California surrogate, referred to as “Judy,” discovered she was carrying a child intended for Chinese billionaire Xu Bo, who has reportedly fathered over 100 children through U.S. surrogacy arrangements.</p><p>Judy stated to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/projects/2026/surrogacy-abuse/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CBS News</span></a> that she responded to an Instagram advertisement offering $120,000 to become a surrogate. She was informed by Patriot Conceptions that the intended parent was a single father seeking to expand his family, and when she inquired about how many surrogates he had hired, she was told the number was close to two dozen.</p><p>Leaked documents obtained by CBS identified Xu as the intended father. Judy expressed her concerns, stating, “I feel blindsided. I feel misled.”</p><p>Patriot Conceptions acknowledged its role in facilitating the surrogacy but stated it was not Xu’s only agency. Bai commented that the surrogate’s concerns should be taken seriously and disputed aspects of CBS’s reporting regarding its involvement.</p><p>This case highlights the largely unregulated international surrogacy market that has rapidly expanded in the United States.</p><p>A <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10978240/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2024 study</span></a> by researchers at Emory University found that international intended parents accounted for nearly 40% of U.S. gestational-carrier cycles by 2019. From 2014 to 2020, 41.7% of international intended parents in the study were from China, making them the largest group among international clients.</p><p>The demand has been particularly high in California, where the Emory researchers found that nearly 65% of gestational-carrier cycles involving international intended parents from 2014 to 2020 occurred at California clinics.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/chinese-billionaires-surrogacy-pregnancy-7fdfc0c3"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wall Street Journal</span></a> reported in December 2025 that wealthy Chinese clients increasingly utilize American surrogacy services to have children, despite commercial surrogacy being illegal in China. The report described a growing industry of American fertility clinics, surrogacy agencies, attorneys, and other businesses catering to Chinese clients seeking U.S.-born children.</p><p>Some wealthy Chinese clients have pursued unusually large numbers of children. Xu, the billionaire at the center of the current controversy, reportedly expressed to a Los Angeles judge in 2023 his desire to have approximately 20 U.S.-born children through surrogacy. The judge rejected his petition for parental rights at that time.</p><p>Xu has been reported to have over 100 children born through U.S. surrogates. He disputes larger estimates, claiming custody of 12 children born through U.S. surrogacy, although his company acknowledged after the Journal's reporting that the effort had produced “a little over 100” children. His former partner, Tang Jing, has claimed he may have as many as 300 children.</p><p>The legal appeal of American surrogacy for foreign nationals is partly linked to birthright citizenship. In June, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-rules-against-trump-in-birthright-citizenship-case"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Supreme Court rejected</span></a> President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship for children born to parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the country. The court determined that Trump’s executive order violated the 14th Amendment.</p><p>While the ruling did not specifically address children born through surrogacy, the broader citizenship rule remains a significant aspect of the international fertility market described by the Journal and Post.</p><p>Bai has promoted Patriot Conceptions as an international business. In a <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-company/growth-studio/patriot-conceptions-tech-transformations"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2025 profile</span></a> published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bai stated that international clients accounted for 40% of the company’s business. The company claims it has expanded internationally through partnerships with clinics and legal professionals.</p><p>Patriot Conceptions was founded in 2019, according to the Chamber. Bai previously established Pacific Surrogacy, another California-based surrogacy company.</p><p>Before entering the surrogacy industry, Bai lived in Hawaii. The Post reported that he helped arrange Chinese student internships in the Hawaii state legislature, a program later shut down amid allegations regarding the placement and housing of the students.</p><p>Former Hawaii state Rep. Matthew LoPresti, a Democrat, expressed concerns about students appearing in his office without his request, particularly due to his office's involvement in sensitive military and intelligence matters. Bai denied selling the internships and faced no charges related to the incident.</p><p>The surrogacy controversy arises as CBS has documented broader concerns about the industry’s lack of oversight. In a yearlong investigation, CBS interviewed numerous surrogates and reported cases involving foreign intended parents, multiple simultaneous surrogacies, and disputes over compensation and disclosure.</p>