Wife of Detained Seismologist Urges Trump to Raise Case at Xi Summit

As Washington prepares for a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the wife of a detained Chinese American seismologist is hoping that direct presidential involvement can secure her husband's release.

Youlin Chen, 54, was taken into custody by Chinese state security agents in November 2024 while finishing a personal trip to see his parents in Beijing, according to his wife, Yufang Rong. He was stopped at an airport and later charged with espionage, an allegation his family rejects.

"He has done nothing wrong," Rong said in an interview in Washington on Tuesday, a day before Xi's arrival. She described the detention as an utter shock, saying no one had expected such a thing to happen to a seismologist who has spent his career on research.

Chen, who was born in China and moved to the United States in 1998 for academic work, is based in Boston and studies the Earth and earthquakes. His wife said his research also covers nuclear tests, including those conducted by North Korea, and that he can use data to distinguish a natural earthquake from an underground nuclear explosion and estimate its size. She speculated that Beijing may have targeted him for that expertise.

Rong said she has had no direct contact with her husband since his detention and relies on US consular officials who visit him periodically. Through notes dictated to those officials, Chen has told her not to worry and has even passed along instructions on household chores such as changing air conditioning filters. "But I know he is going through such unthinkable difficulties," she said. "It's very hard to read his message each time."

She expressed concern about his physical and mental health, noting he has diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and said she does not believe he has access to the medication he used in the United States.

Trump is expected to raise the cases of Chen and Min Zin, 53, with Xi. The two men are the only American citizens the US government considers wrongfully detained in China. Rong said Trump spoke with Xi about Chen during a visit to Beijing in May, and that if the president mentions the case again this week, she is confident it would be resolved soon.

The White House has said Trump wants every American detained abroad to return home. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a question about the two cases. Family members of both men have travelled to Washington to meet senior US officials ahead of Xi's visit.

Min Zin, a scholar of Myanmar politics, was detained in June while travelling to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming for an academic workshop. According to his wife, Sylvia Zin, he is being held on suspicion of endangering national security.

Last week, a group of American lawmakers introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning China's wrongful detention of the two scholars and urging the US government to prioritise their safe return. Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who represents Chen's home state, said he hoped the resolution would draw increased attention to the detentions and push Beijing to release them immediately. Some lawmakers also voiced hope that Trump would raise other detentions in China, including those of activists, Christians and members of ethnic minorities.