Trump to raise issue of American seismologist’s release with Xi — Jerusalem Post
US President Donald Trump is expected to raise the issue of the release of American seismologist Yulin Chen, who has been held in China since November 2024, during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This was stated by the scientist’s wife, Yufan Rong, after a meeting with representatives of the US State Department and National Security Council at the White House, The Jerusalem Post reports.
According to Rong, officials assured her that Trump would ask Xi Jinping to release her husband during talks scheduled for Wednesday. She also said she had been informed of the US president’s intention to appeal to the Chinese leader regarding the release of researcher Ming Jin, who was detained in June.
Detention in Beijing
Fifty-four-year-old Yulin Chen is one of two US citizens whom US authorities have designated as wrongfully detained by China. Chen works as a seismologist for a US government contractor and studied seismic waves from North Korea’s underground nuclear tests.
His research, according to the publication, was openly funded by the US State Department and the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Chen became a US citizen in 2011 and settled near Boston.
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Chinese state security officers detained him on November 5, 2024, at Beijing International Airport as he was preparing to fly to the United States after visiting family and delivering lectures at two universities. Rong said that her husband had been interrogated more than 100 times.
Positions of Washington and Beijing
The seismologist’s wife fears that Beijing may bring fabricated espionage charges against Chen. She stressed that his research work was publicly available, based on open data, and conducted in cooperation with Chinese scientists.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that resolving cases of wrongful detention of US citizens is one of the president’s priorities. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that Chen is suspected of activities that threaten China’s national security and violate Chinese law. He also said that there is no concept of wrongful detention in China.
According to Rong, US embassy representatives can see Chen about once a month and only for around 30 minutes in the presence of Chinese officials. She also expressed concern about his medical care and nutrition, as Chen has high blood pressure and diabetes.
