Rubio designates US citizen held in China as wrongfully detained as Trump prepares to host Xi at White House

The Trump administration has designated an American scholar detained in China as wrongfully held after he traveled there at Beijing’s invitation, escalating his case just weeks before President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that U.S. citizen Min Zin is “wrongfully detained” after the State Department reviewed the circumstances of his June 3 detention in Yunnan, the State Department said Thursday.

Zin had traveled to China for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government, according to the department.

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He is now one of two U.S. citizens the State Department considers wrongfully detained in China. The other is Dr. Youlin Chen, a Chinese-born American seismologist from Boston.

“The safety and security of U.S. citizens is the State Department’s top priority,” Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said in a statement. “We will continue to advocate for Mr. Zin and call for the release of all U.S. citizens who are arbitrarily detained or exit banned in China.”

Zin was detained at the airport after arriving in China and has been repeatedly interrogated and held in isolation during nearly 11 weeks in custody, a senior State Department official told Reuters.

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“One minute his colleagues and family were engaging with him on the phone – exchanging updates on his arrival time and plans in China – and the next minute communication was lost,” the official said.

For the next 48 hours, his family and colleagues did not know where he was, whether he was alive or who had taken him, according to the official.

Authorities in Yunnan later told the U.S. Embassy that Zin was under criminal investigation for allegedly endangering China’s national security, Reuters reported.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Zin’s arrest in June and said he was suspected of spying and endangering national security, the report said.

Beijing has denied that wrongful detention occurs in China and says such cases are handled according to Chinese law.

The U.S. designation can bring more government attention and resources to efforts to secure Zin’s release.

It also puts his detention in the spotlight ahead of Xi’s anticipated Sept. 24 visit to the White House.

Zin, who writes about Burma and Chinese foreign policy, leads the Institute for Strategy and Policy, a think tank focused on Burma. He took part in that country’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising before eventually seeking asylum in the United States.

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The State Department said it will continue pushing for Zin’s release and for Americans it says are being arbitrarily detained or prevented from leaving China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.