“Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Chinese government, three Chinese citizens illegally detained by the United States have returned home safely,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Maa Ning said on Wednesday.
“China has always firmly opposed the suppression and persecution of Chinese citizens by the United States for political purposes,” she added.
President Biden raised the issue of Americans illegally detained in China directly with President Xi Jinping earlier this month when they met during the APEC summit in Peru, according to a US official familiar with the talks. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also called for their return during his visit to China in August.
“Thanks to the efforts of this administration and diplomacy with the PRC, all illegally detained Americans in the PRC are now at home,” said a spokesman for the NSB.
The exchange was first reported by Politico.
Svidan, 48, had been in custody since 2012 and faced the death penalty after being convicted of drug trafficking. Swidan has denied the charges, and the State Department has declared him unlawfully detained, having previously raised concerns about his health.
Mark Li, 60, has been held in China since September 2016 on what activists say are trumped-up espionage charges.
John Leung, 78, led several pro-Beijing groups in the United States. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison two years later on espionage charges.
According to the New York Times, several US officials said they discussed the release of 42-year-old Chinese citizen Xu Yanjun, who was convicted in the US on espionage charges two years ago and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Xu was the first Chinese government intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States for trial, the Justice Department said.
As of Wednesday morning, Xu was listed as “not in BOP custody” in the Bureau of Prisons system.
The deal marks a diplomatic victory for Biden in the final months of his presidency.
This happened after the release of another American who is believed to be illegally detained: David Lin, a pastor who was imprisoned in China from 2006 until his release in September.
During his four years in the White House, Biden oversaw the release of more than 70 Americans, including those from Russia, Venezuela and Iran.
On Wednesday, the US also lowered its travel advisory for mainland China to level 2: exercise extra caution.
