China Denies Wrongfully Detaining U.S. Seismologist Held Nearly Two Years on Spying Charge

An American Scientist, Two Years, No Trial

Youlin Chen, 54, hasn't seen a courtroom, but he's been locked up in China for about a year and a half.

Chen was arrested by Chinese state security officers at Beijing Capital International Airport on Nov. 5, 2024, according to Reuters. He was heading home to Boston after visiting relatives and lecturing at two universities. He never made the flight.

Chen became a U.S. citizen in 2011. He'd worked as a government contractor for the State Department and the Air Force Research Lab, according to Global Reach, the nonprofit advocacy group now advising his family. Much of that work involved detecting North Korean nuclear tests using seismic data, work that required collaborating with Chinese colleagues, per Global Reach and reporting from the Associated Press.

China charged him with espionage on May 1, 2025. Fourteen months later, he still hasn't been tried.

Beijing's Response: Nothing to See Here

Asked about the case Tuesday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian didn't budge. "China is a country governed by rule of law, and the relevant department handles the case in accordance with the rule of law," Lin said, according to CBS News. "There is no instance of wrongful detention."

That's Beijing's consistent line, and it deserves to be stated plainly: China maintains its courts followed proper procedure and rejects the premise that this is political theater or hostage diplomacy. No independent international body has been allowed to review the case file or observe proceedings, so there's no way to verify that claim one way or the other. That opacity is the whole problem for Chen's family and for Washington.

What Rubio's Designation Actually Means

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen "wrongfully detained" on March 19, according to Reuters, which makes his release a formal top priority for the U.S. government and unlocks more aggressive diplomatic tools. Chen is the only American currently held in China with that designation, according to Türkiye Today's reporting on the Reuters story.

The Trump administration reportedly sat on that designation publicly, hoping quiet diplomacy would work better than a press conference. Chen's wife, Yufang Rong, told Reuters the White House and State Department informed her that President Trump personally raised her husband's case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during Trump's state visit to Beijing in May. Chen is still in prison.

"I have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days and am concerned for his health and well-being," Rong said in a statement released by Global Reach.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Associated Press that Trump "has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term" and wants every detained American home. Rong echoed that in her own statement, saying she trusts Trump's team to bring her husband back.

The Allegations Rong Makes

Rong told Reuters her husband has been interrogated more than 100 times and was denied access to a lawyer for 13 months. U.S. embassy officials have visited him several times, but always with Chinese officials present, according to Reuters.

She also alleges he was held in harsh conditions early on and couldn't get medication for his diabetes and other health issues, losing 30 to 40 pounds on inadequate food and receiving poor-quality medical care. None of these specific allegations have been independently verified. They come from his wife, relayed through Global Reach and Reuters, not from a court record or an outside medical review. The family's account is largely all the outside world has to go on, and China's government hasn't offered a detailed rebuttal beyond insisting the process is lawful.

Rong told Reuters she believes Chen will be convicted regardless of the evidence and that any trial will happen behind closed doors. Espionage convictions in China can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Not an Isolated Case

Chen's situation surfaced publicly around the same time as the arrest of Min Zin, a U.S. scholar and Myanmar-focused think tank director, who was detained at an airport in Kunming last month and accused of spying and endangering national security, according to CBS News.

The Foley Foundation, a hostage advocacy group that works with the U.S. government, says at least 12 Americans are currently wrongfully detained in China. The Biden administration secured the release of three wrongfully detained Americans from China in 2024, according to the Associated Press.

Why the Family Went Public Now

Chen's relatives broke their silence this week specifically because they've seen no indication Beijing intends to release him, even after Trump raised the case directly with Xi in May, according to Eric Lebson, the Global Reach adviser working with the family.

Xi is expected to visit Washington in September, and Trump is expected to raise both Chen's and Zin's cases again at that meeting, according to CBS News and the Associated Press. Whether that produces a release, a trial date, or continued silence from Beijing is still an open question. Nothing about China's judicial timeline in this case has been predictable so far.