Sylvia Zin, the wife of Myanmar scholar U Min Zin, told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that she hopes President Trump will bring her husband’s case to the table at the forthcoming summit with Xi.
Min Zin, 53, was invited to a workshop in Kunming in June and vanished from contact soon after. He was later seized by Chinese authorities on alleged national‑security grounds, interrogated four to six hours a day and confined to a cramped cell that never goes dark.
The State Department lists both Min Zin and seismologist Youlin Chen as "wrongfully detained," a designation that hands the matter to the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs and unlocks extra diplomatic resources.
Families of other Americans in China have flocked to Washington to press Trump, including the son of Hong Kong media figure Jimmy Lai, who urged the president to seek his father’s release. Trump previously raised Lai’s case with Xi in May, and the Chinese leader referred to it as "tough." A senior White House official told the BBC that resolving such detentions remains a top priority for the administration. The next week’s summit will therefore be the focal point for any potential breakthrough.