Three Americans detained in China were released after the Biden administration negotiated a prisoner switch.
Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung are on their way back to the US, a spokesperson for the National Security Council ( NSC ) said in a statement on Wednesday.
” Quickly they may return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the statement said.
The change was apparently months in the doing, and included the transfer of at least one Chinese resident in US custody.
President Biden raised the issue of Americans unfairly detained in China immediately with President Xi Jinping earlier this month when the two met during the Apec summit in Peru, according to an American official familiar with the discussions. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan even urged for their gain during his visit to China in August.
” Owing to this Administration’s work and politics with the PRC, all of the unfairly detained Americans in the PRC are house,” the NSC spokesperson said.
The transfer was initially reported by Politico.
Mr Swidan, 48, had been detained since 2012 and was facing the death penalty after a judgment for cocaine prostitution. Swidan denied the costs and the State Department classified him as unjustly detained, recently raising concerns about his health.
Mark Li, 60, had been held in China since September 2016 on what campaigners say were trumped-up snooping fees.
John Leung, 78, has lead many pro-Beijing teams in the US. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison on spy claims two years later.
According to the New York Times, many US authorities said they had discussed releasing Chinese member Xu Yanjun, 42, who was convicted in the US on espionage charges two years ago and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Xu was second Chinese state intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the US to have trial, the Justice Department said.
As of Wednesday morning, Xu was listed in the Bureau of Prisons method as” not in BOP prison”.
The deal marks a political gain for Biden in the last decades of his administration.
It follows the release of another British considered wrongfully detained: David Lin, a priest who had been jailed in China from 2006 until his transfer in September.
During his four times in the White House, Biden oversaw the launch of more than 70 Americans, including from Russia, Venezuela and Iran.
On Wednesday, the US also lowered its go expert stage for mainland China to Level 2: Training increased precaution.