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

Wife of US scholar jailed in China asks Trump to raise arrest at Xi meeting. Image source, Getty ImagesByMax MatzaPublished17 September 2026The wife of a US scholar imprisoned in China on charges of spying and endangering national security has asked President Donald Trump to secure his release when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House next week.

What happened

"I'm deeply hopeful that President Trump will raise my husband's case with President Xi Jinping at the summit next week," his wife, Sylvia Zin, testified to Congress on Wednesday. " China detains US scientist who studied North Korea nuclear testsPublished15 JulyChina arrests US scholar suspected of spying Published12 JuneLast month, the US State Department said that two Americans – U Min Zin and Chen Youlin – were being "wrongfully detained" in China. Sylvia Zin is among the family members of people imprisoned in China who are seeking Trump's help when he hosts the country's leader next week.

Ahead of the meeting, families of prisoners being held in China have travelled to the US capital to advocate for their release. In her remarks, Zin said she believed Trump would also be able to secure the release of Chen Youlin, a US seismologist who tracks nuclear tests that has been held in prison in China for two years. "Speaking about Zin's arrest, she added: "Beijing wanted to send a message to those whose research inconvenienced it, and detained Mr Zin ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit.

Related topicsChina-US relationsXi JinpingChinaUnited StatesDonald TrumpMore on this storyChinese underground church figure Jin Mingri freed from prisonPublished5 JulyThis billionaire tested China's limits.

The wider picture

U Min Zin, the director at a think tank focused on Myanmar, was arrested on 3 June after travelling to the Chinese city of Kunming for an academic conference. It comes after Xi hosted Trump for a visit to Beijing in May. Sylvia Zin appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee on Wednesday for a hearing titled Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression. Congresswoman Young Kim, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing by warning Americans: "If you travel to China, Beijing may take you hostage as leverage in diplomatic negotiation.

"Min Zin, a student activist during Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy movement, directs the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar), a think tank that studies China's role in Myanmar, including Chinese interests, relations, and regional influence. The son of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai also appeared on Capitol Hill to call on Trump to secure his father's release. The US president previously raised the case with Xi, telling reporters that his Chinese counterpart "told me that would be a tough one".

Last time Trump and Xi formally met, Trump pressed for the return of another American in jail.

What has been reported

Underground church leader Jin Mingri was freed two months after Trump's request. Xi is due to arrive for a state visit to Washington DC on Wednesday. "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 citizens," she said. Asked for comment on Thursday, a senior White House official, speaking anonymously, told the BBC: "Resolving the wrongful detentions of US citizens is always a top priority for the President.

This designation in the US allows the cases to be transferred to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs – raising the profile of each case and allowing the US government to allocate more resources to securing their release. Zin, who lives in Thailand, told the committee on Wednesday that she has not yet been able to speak to her husband in jail, "so every month, we anxiously await his consular visits because they reassure us that he is alive".

Zin said US officials had told her that Min Zin was being subjected to up to six hours of interrogations each day when he first arrived in jail. "I'm trying to be strong for our daughter, but I'm constantly wondering if he's OK and how to get him back home to us," she said.