China denies US citizen held since June is wrongfully detained

China refuted on Friday a claim from Washington that it has improperly held a US citizen since early June, saying the American was suspected of violating Chinese law.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian during a press conference on March 18, 2026. Photo: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“China is a country governed by the rule of law, and there is no such thing as so-called wrongful detention,” said foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian in response to a question about the US State Department designating Min Zin as “wrongfully detained” on Thursday.

“It is understood that the relevant US individual in question is suspected of engaging in activities that endanger China’s national security, thereby violating Chinese law,” said Lin.

“The Chinese judicial authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law,” he added.

Min Zin is a founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M), which researches the political, resource and conflict dynamics of Myanmar, plunged into civil war by a 2021 coup.

The political analyst was taken into custody on June 3 in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, the US government said.

Some of the ISP-M’s publications detail China’s influence in the borderlands of Myanmar, where Beijing is accused of supporting armed factions which suit its national interests.

The State Department’s designation raises the diplomatic stakes around the detention, coming a month before Chinese leader Xi Jinping visits President Donald Trump in Washington.

The US Department of State seal by the entrance to the lobby of the Harry S. Truman building in Washington, D.C. Photo: US Department of State, via Flickr.

It makes Min Zin the second US citizen considered by Washington to be “wrongfully detained” in China, alongside seismologist Youlin Chen, who has been detained on espionage charges since 2024.