The U.S. State Department has designated Min Zin, a Ph.D. candidate from UC Berkeley, as wrongfully detained in China on spying charges. This designation comes ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The designation of Min Zin as wrongfully detained and the upcoming meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi highlight ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, potentially impacting diplomatic relations and bilateral trade.
The U.S. State Department has designated Min Zin, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, as having been wrongfully detained in China on spying charges. Zin, who founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy in Myanmar, is one of two Americans currently designated as wrongfully detained by China.
The designation comes roughly a month before President Donald Trump is set to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. This meeting follows a previous summit where trade, arms sales to Taiwan, and the war in Iran were discussed. The timing of the designation also coincides with reassessments of defense reliance on the U.S. by Asian allies, as Trump reduces joint military exercises with South Korea and plans a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Institute for Strategy and Policy issued a statement welcoming the U.S. government's designation and urged China to facilitate Zin's immediate and unconditional release, particularly ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi.
The other American designated as wrongfully detained is Youlin Chen, a seismologist detained in 2024. Representative John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, previously called for Chen's release, stating that academic engagement with China carries risks beyond intellectual property theft.