WASHINGTON — A China-born American seismologist has been detained in China without trial for nearly two years, an advocacy group advising the family said Tuesday, a revelation that came a couple of months before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S.
The relatives of Youlin Chen of Boston broke their silence this week, apparently after they saw no sign from the Chinese government that it was planning to release Chen — even after President Donald Trump brought up the case when meeting Xi in Beijing in May, according to Global Reach, a Washington-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing home Americans wrongly detained abroad.
“I have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days and am concerned for his health and well-being,” Yufang Rong, Chen’s wife, said in a statement released by Global Reach, which has been advising the family since Chen’s detention.
“President Trump has taken a personal interest in freeing Youlin. Since taking office, he has already freed 106 people and I know that he and his team will bring Youlin home to us,” Rong said.
Chen is the only U.S. citizen determined by the State Department to be wrongfully detained in China, Global Reach said. The designation means those cases are of high priority to the U.S. government and can lead to intense diplomatic efforts to secure releases. The Biden administration in 2024 secured the release of three wrongfully detained Americans from China.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants every American detained abroad to return home, and he has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said when asked about Chen’s case.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as a wrongful detainee in March. The State Department said Tuesday that the U.S. government has raised Chen’s case directly with Chinese officials, calling for his immediate release. Reuters reported earlier on his detention.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Tuesday that there is no “wrongful detention” in China and that judicial agencies handle cases in accordance with the law.
If not resolved, Chen’s case could “figure prominently” when Xi is expected to meet Trump in Washington in September, said Eric Lebson, a Global Reach adviser to Chen’s relatives. The family decided to speak out now because Chinese officials do not appear to be acting on Xi’s commitment to Trump after the U.S. president raised Chen’s detention in May, Lebson said.
The seismologist was detained in November 2024 by state security agents during a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, and he has been charged with espionage, Global Reach said.
Chen has worked as a U.S. government contractor for the State Department and Air Force Research Lab, with much of his work involving collaborating with Chinese colleagues to analyze seismological data, Global Reach said.
Chen’s arrest is “likely an effort by Chinese officials to learn about the techniques the U.S. uses to detect nuclear tests using seismic data,” the group said.
U.S. Embassy personnel have been allowed to visit Chen several times but are not allowed to discuss the case with him, the group said.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., vowed Tuesday to do “everything within my power to advocate for” the immediate release of one of his constituents.
“It is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Dr. Chen and allow him to return to his family in Massachusetts,” Markey said.
