Wife of US scholar jailed in China asks Trump to raise arrest at Xi meeting

September 17, 2026

The wife of U Min Zin, an American scholar imprisoned in China on espionage charges, has appealed to President Trump to secure her husband's release during an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Zin, who directs a think tank studying China's influence in Myanmar, was detained in June after attending an academic conference in Kunming. His wife testified before Congress alongside other families of detainees, expressing hope that Trump's track record of securing releases would help bring her husband and other wrongfully detained Americans home.

Who is affected

U Min Zin (imprisoned U.S. scholar and Myanmar think tank director)
Sylvia Zin (his wife)
Their daughter
Chen Youlin (detained U.S. seismologist)
Jimmy Lai (Hong Kong media mogul) and his son
Americans traveling to China
Families of prisoners held in China

What action is being taken

Families of prisoners are traveling to Washington DC to advocate for their release
Sylvia Zin is testifying to Congress requesting Trump raise her husband's case
U Min Zin is being subjected to up to six hours of daily interrogations
The U.S. government is allocating resources to securing the release of wrongfully detained citizens through the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs

Why it matters

This case highlights China's practice of detaining foreign nationals, particularly Americans, as potential leverage in diplomatic negotiations. The detention of scholars researching topics sensitive to Beijing demonstrates how China uses arrests to suppress inconvenient research and send warnings to academics. The designation of these Americans as "wrongfully detained" elevates their cases to a priority diplomatic issue between the world's two largest powers, making their fate a significant indicator of U.S.-China relations.

What's next

President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House next week, where families hope he will raise the cases of detained Americans and secure their release.

Read full article from source: BBC