The US State Department has officially stated that China is illegally detaining American scientist Wu Min Jin. According to reports, this case has been elevated to a priority for the Donald Trump administration ahead of the upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. As clarified in the statement, the decision to review the detention status was made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio following an analysis of the circumstances under which Min Jin was detained on June 3 in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, where he had traveled for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Washington's Position: Citizen Safety is the Top Priority

The State Department emphasized that protecting Americans abroad is a key mission of the agency. "The safety of US citizens is the top priority of the State Department," said Deputy Secretary of State Dylan Johnson. He added that the US "will continue to advocate for Mr. Zin and call for the release of all US citizens who are arbitrarily detained or denied exit from China." Thus, Washington has publicly classified the detention as arbitrary and inconsistent with international obligations.

Beijing's Response and a Second Detained Seismologist

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier, in June, the Chinese side stated that Min Jin was detained on suspicion of espionage and creating a threat to national security, and the US Consulate in Guangzhou was informed of the coercive measure. In addition to him, the State Department reported that another US citizen — seismologist Yulin Chen (Chen) — is being illegally detained in China; he was detained at the end of last year and was recognized by the department as illegally detained in March, Reuters reports.

Context: Visits, Zion Church, and the September Meeting

The issue of detained American citizens has previously been raised at the highest level: during the May visit to Beijing, Donald Trump discussed with Xi Jinping, among other things, the fate of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the leader of a well-known underground Chinese church. Later, China released the pastor, who returned to Los Angeles on July 4, although several members of the Zion Church he leads remain in custody. The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which protects Americans illegally detained abroad, supported Rubio's call, stating that "as President Trump and President Xi prepare for a new meeting on September 24, Dr. Chen and Min Jin must return home." Recall that in May of this year, Trump visited China for the first time in nine years, where he met with Xi Jinping and agreed on a number of important issues, including economic ones.

Contradictory Data

Discrepancies are observed in the available materials, which the editorial team records openly. First, the surname and first name of the main figure are recorded differently in different fragments of the text — "Wu Min Jin", "Min Jin", "Min Jin" and "Mr. Zin", which does not allow for an unambiguous establishment of the canonical spelling without additional verification. Second, the chronology of contacts at the highest level is not fully consistent: in one place it is said that preparations are underway for a "new meeting on September 24", in another — that Xi Jinping will arrive for an official visit to the US next month for the first time in 11 years, but will miss one of the political events in New York. These inconsistencies in dates and meeting formats require additional verification before final publication.