Trump Expected to Raise Detained Americans’ Cases With Xi

President Donald Trump is expected to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Americans Youlin Chen and Min Zin during their meeting this week, according to Chen’s wife, Yufang Rong, who said U.S. officials told her the cases would be raised. The meeting’s outcome has not been reported, and there is no confirmation in the available accounts that Trump made the appeal. Rong said she met Tuesday with representatives of the State Department and National Security Council at the White House. They told her Trump would discuss both men, she said. The United States has designated Chen and Min Zin as wrongfully detained. Rong said Trump raised Chen’s case with Xi during a May meeting in Beijing, but that discussion did not result in his release. Chen, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen and seismologist, was arrested by Chinese state security officers at Beijing International Airport on November 5, 2024, according to accounts citing Rong and his family. He was preparing to return to the United States after visiting relatives and lecturing at two universities.