Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Mandarin article.
President Donald Trump said on September 30 that he raised the cases of Americans detained in China and Chinese political prisoners during his meeting last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The State Department separately confirmed to VOA that Washington has directly raised with Beijing the cases of Min Zin, a Burmese American scholar, and Youlin Chen, a Chinese American seismologist. Both have been designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained in China.
Asked at the White House whether he had discussed political prisoners, including Min Zin and Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, Trump said, “I did, I did, with President Xi.”
“We talked, and I think we had some very, very important discussions. Hopefully, fruitful discussions,” Trump said.
A State Department spokesperson told VOA on Wednesday evening that the administration remains committed to securing the release of the two Americans.
“The Trump Administration is committed to securing the release of Youlin Chen, Min Zin, and all Americans wrongfully detained overseas. The United States has raised Min Zin and Dr. Chen’s cases directly with China, calling for their immediate release,” the spokesperson said.
Min Zin’s wife, Sylvia Zin, welcomed President Trump’s comments, saying they had given her family “renewed hope.”
“Hearing President Trump say he discussed my husband, Min Zin, with President Xi gives our family renewed hope,” she wrote on X.
She thanked Trump for raising her husband’s case, adding, “We hope he’ll be home soon.”
Ahead of the U.S.-China summit, she spent two weeks in Washington advocating for her husband’s release.
On September 16, she testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific at a hearing titled “Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea’s Repression.”
“Knowing the President’s historic record on bringing wrongfully detained Americans home has reassured me that he will also be able to secure the swift release of Min Zin and other wrongfully detained American citizens, such as Dr. Youlin Chen,” she told lawmakers.
During her visit, Sylvia also met with members of Congress, including Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; Representatives Jim McGovern, Young Kim and Haley Stevens; and Senator John Cornyn.
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) met with Rong Yufang, the wife of Chinese-American scientist Chen Youlin, at his office. (Photo taken on September 22, 2026; courtesy of Rong Yufang)
In a September 17 interview with VOA, she welcomed the State Department’s August designation of her husband’s detention as wrongful and urged Trump to raise his case with Xi.
Min Zin, an American scholar specializing in Myanmar politics and China-Myanmar relations, was detained by Chinese authorities in June after traveling to Yunnan at the invitation of a Chinese professor to attend an academic conference.
Chinese authorities have accused him of espionage activities that allegedly endanger national security. The State Department formally designated his detention as wrongful on August 20.
Trump did not specifically mention Chen by name during Wednesday’s remarks, but the State Department told VOA that U.S. officials had raised his case “directly” with Beijing.
On September 23, hours before Xi arrived in the United States, Chen’s wife, Rong Yufang, told VOA that she hoped President Trump would raise her husband’s case with the Chinese leader for a second time.
“I was assured that they [the White House] would bring him up again,” Rong said. “We hope with his name being raised again, the two presidents can find a way to get this thing resolved.”
Rong said congressional officials had also described Chen’s case to her as a “top priority” and that she had received similar assurances from the State Department.
“I felt pretty hopeful after those meetings,” she said.
Chen is a U.S. seismologist based in Boston who previously collaborated with Chinese researchers on a publicly available, U.S. government-funded project focused primarily on detecting seismic signals from North Korean underground nuclear tests.
He traveled to China in October 2024 to visit family and was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on November 5 as he prepared to return to the United States. Chinese authorities formally charged him with espionage on May 1, 2025.
The State Department determined in March that Chen was wrongfully detained.
Min Zin and Chen are currently the two U.S. citizens formally designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained in China. Such a designation makes securing their release a U.S. government priority.
The Chinese government has consistently rejected allegations of wrongful detention, saying its judicial authorities handle cases in accordance with Chinese law.
On September 18, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate introduced a resolution condemning the Chinese Communist Party over what the measure described as the arbitrary and wrongful detention of American academics.
The resolution urges the U.S. government to prioritize the safe return of Americans unlawfully detained in China, including Min Zin and Chen, and calls on the secretary of state to use available tools to press for their release.