According to the statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the designation after reviewing Min Zin’s detention on June 3 in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, where he had traveled to attend an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government.
“The safety and security of US citizens is the State Department’s top priority,” Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said.
“We will continue to advocate for Mr. Zin and call for the release of all U.S. citizens who are arbitrarily detained or prevented from leaving China,” he added.
What China says
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In June, it said that Min Zin was detained on suspicion of espionage and endangering national security, and that the US Consulate in Guangzhou had been notified.
In addition to Min Zin, the State Department said another US citizen, Youlin Chen, is also being wrongfully detained in China.
Chen, an American seismologist who was detained in China late last year, was designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department in March, Reuters reported.
During his May visit to Beijing, Trump raised the issue of the detentions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, including the case of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of the prominent underground Chinese church.
China later released the pastor, who returned to Los Angeles on July 4. Despite Jin’s release, several members of the Zion Church he led remain in custody.
The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad and promotes journalist safety, backed Rubio’s call.
“As President Trump and President Xi prepare to meet again on September 24, Dr. Chen and Min Zin must come home,” the foundation said in a statement.
\Xi Jinping will visit the US officially for the first time in 11 years next month. However, he will skip one of the political events in New York.
Donald Trump visited China for the first time in nine years in May this year, where he met with Xi Jinping and addressed several key issues, including economic matters.