Trump to Press Xi Jinping Over Detained Americans

President Donald Trump intends to ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to release Youlin Chen and Min Zin during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday. The U.S. Department of State has officially designated both men as wrongfully detained, a status that obligates the U.S. government to treat them as hostages.

Youlin Chen, a U.S. citizen and government contractor specializing in North Korean nuclear test detection, was arrested at Beijing International Airport in November 2024 on espionage suspicions. Min Zin, an American Myanmar scholar and policy research executive, was arrested in June while attending a conference in southwest China. While China accuses both men of spying and endangering national security, the U.S. maintains that Chen's research was openly published and funded by the State Department and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

Families of the detainees and supporters of pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Hong Kong, have urged the president to use his leverage to secure their freedom. The Dui Hua Foundation estimates more than 200 Americans are currently subject to coercive measures in China. In response to the risk of unjust arrests, the State Department recently updated its travel advisory for China, urging citizens to exercise increased caution.