US Demands China Release American Scholar Min Zin Held on Spying Charges/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ The State Department has designated American scholar Min Zin as wrongfully detained by China and demanded his immediate release. Zin traveled to China in June for a government-invited academic conference before authorities detained him on espionage allegations. The dispute comes about a month before President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.
Quick Look
- The U.S. says China is wrongfully detaining American citizen Min Zin.
- Zin was arrested on allegations of espionage.
- He traveled to China in June for an academic conference.
- The Chinese government reportedly invited him to the event.
- Zin is a political science doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley.
- He founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy–Myanmar in 2016.
- The State Department demanded the release of Americans detained or prevented from leaving China.
- Trump is scheduled to meet Xi in Washington on Sept. 24.
- Zin is one of two U.S. citizens officially deemed wrongfully detained in China.
- The other is seismologist Youlin Chen, who was detained in 2024.
Deep Look
US designates Min Zin as wrongfully detained
The State Department accused China of wrongfully detaining American scholar Min Zin on espionage allegations and called for his release Thursday.
Zin traveled to China’s Yunnan province in June to attend an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government, according to the department.
Yunnan shares a border with Myanmar, where Zin was previously involved in the country’s pro-democracy movement.
State Department demands Americans’ release
“We call on Beijing to release all U.S. citizens arbitrarily detained or exit banned in China,” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said on social media.
“The safety and security of U.S. citizens is the State Department’s top priority.”
The formal wrongful-detention designation could increase diplomatic pressure on Beijing and prioritize Zin’s case within the U.S. government.
The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Detention precedes Trump-Xi summit
The designation comes approximately one month before Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump in Washington on Sept. 24.
It will be the leaders’ second meeting in four months.
Trump and Xi previously held a high-profile summit in Beijing where they discussed trade, a major U.S. weapons sale to Taiwan and the war with Iran.
Zin’s detention could become another point of contention between Washington and Beijing ahead of the September meeting.
Wider changes affect US policy in Asia
The detention dispute emerges as U.S. allies in Asia reassess their reliance on Washington for defense.
Trump has substantially reduced joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that has generated questions about the future of American security commitments in the region.
The president has also announced plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
These developments are unfolding as the United States and China manage disputes involving trade, Taiwan, regional security and the treatment of American citizens.
Zin studied democratic political transitions
Zin is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy–Myanmar.
He founded the think tank in 2016.
His academic work focuses on democratization, drawing partly on his experience as a student activist in Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy movement.
The organization welcomed the State Department’s decision to classify his detention as wrongful.
Think tank urges action before Xi’s visit
“We humbly ask that the US government continues to keep Min Zin’s case as a top priority, particularly ahead of President Xi’s visit to meet with President Trump next month, and that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facilitate his immediate and unconditional release,” the institute said.
The organization is seeking to use the approaching summit to increase diplomatic pressure for Zin’s freedom.
Another American scholar remains detained
Zin is one of two U.S. citizens whom the State Department currently considers wrongfully detained in China.
The other is Youlin Chen, a seismologist who was detained in 2024.
Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Partycalled on Beijing in July to release Chen and withdraw what he described as “baseless allegations.”
“The Chinese Communist Party’s wrongful detention of Dr. Youlin Chen is a stark reminder that academic engagement with China carries risks that extend far beyond the theft of intellectual property and research,” Moolenaar said.
More on US News