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The top US diplomat landed in Shanghai where he is expected to meet local officials and business leaders, and he will then travel to Beijing for meetings with senior Chinese officials. “We are in a different place than we were a year ago when the bilateral relationship was at an historic low point,” a senior State Department official said. “Russia is no longer kind of on its back foot,” a second senior State Department official said. Blinken will make the case that China should weigh in “more directly” with Iran to be less provocative in the region, the second senior State Department official said. “In both cases the Chinese have taken some early steps,” said the second senior State Department official, adding that there is still “much more” that needs to be done on both fronts.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Janet Yellen, Biden, Xi, ”, “, ” Blinken, Matthew Miller, Leah Millis, China’s, ” Xi, Blinken, ” Miller, it’s, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, David Lin Organizations: CNN, State Department, Ukraine, US, Foreign Ministry, of, People, Biden, Chinese Foreign Ministry, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Beijing, Party, Taiwan, Communist, Taiwan Relations, White Locations: China, Ukraine, Shanghai, Beijing, California, Russia, Moscow, Italy, “ Russia, ”, Europe, United States, South China, Philippine, Washington, Philippines, South, Taiwan, Taiwan Strait, East, Iran

☆ Opinion: A new flag is going to fly over the White House. My dad would be proud
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Sarah Levinson Moriarty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

She is one of seven children of Robert Levinson, the longest held hostage in US history. It was the day before his 59th birthday, and I was going to see him the following weekend for a big family celebration. Sarah Levinson Moriarty Sarah Levinson MoriartyMy dad was a man who was larger than life — kind, smart and a true patriot. The flag will now fly above the White House, State Department and Capitol on this day as well as on Flag Day (June 14), the Fourth of July and any day in which Americans held captive overseas come home to our great country. Six Americans are still being held hostage by Hamas after its October 7 terror attack on Israel.

Persons: Sarah Levinson Moriarty, Robert Levinson, Sarah Levinson Moriarty Sarah Levinson Moriarty, Bobby Levinson, Levinson, Manuel Balce Ceneta, Bob Levinson, ”, —, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ksenia Karelina, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, David Lin Organizations: New, Security, CNN, FBI, CIA, White, House, State Department, Capitol, Hostage, Wall Street Locations: Kish, Iran, Florida, Israel, Russia, Russian, China, American

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin wrote to Biden to push for immediate freedom for Mark Swidan, Kai Li and David Lin, whom the U.S. government has classified as wrongfully detained in China. Families of Americans the U.S. government has classified as wrongfully detained in China have also repeatedly urged the government to prioritize the release of their loved ones in talks with Chinese officials. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns about her son Mark over the weekend, but called the conversation "disappointing" because Burns would not say whether Biden would raise Mark’s name with Xi. A State Department spokesperson commented that the department has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens and noted that it continually raises wrongfully detained U.S. nationals during engagements with senior Chinese officials. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Michael Martina; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ben Cardin, Craig Hudson, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, David Lin, Xi, Cardin, Katherine Swidan, China Nicholas Burns, Mark, Burns, Patricia Zengerle, Michael Martina, Stephen Coates Organizations: Senate Foreign, U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Senate Foreign, Reuters, Democratic, Economic Cooperation, State, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, China, Asia, San Francisco, United, United States, U.S

☆ Republicans demand Biden challenge China's Xi on fentanyl, prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The flags of the United States and China fly from a lamppost in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., November 1, 2021. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have offered sometimes different approaches for countering China's growing economic and military might despite bipartisan consensus on the need to do so. But they asked Biden to present Xi with a list of 10 demands to improve relations, much like Beijing did to U.S. officials in 2021. "It is clear that competitive actions have been sacrificed to advance aimless, zombie-like engagement," they said. Reporting by Michael Martina and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Mike Gallagher, Biden, Mark Swidan, American Kai Li, David Lin, Michael Martina, Patricia Zengerle, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Beijing, Biden, Economic Cooperation, Republicans, Democrats, Treasury, Industrial, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Chinatown, Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, San Francisco, Asia, Beijing, Philippines, South China, South, Taiwan, China's Xinjiang, Texas, American

☆ China Resists Efforts to Free ‘Wrongfully Detained’ Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( James T. Areddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Congressional resolutions. Pressure from the White House. A United Nations agency plea. For more than a decade, China has resisted impassioned requests to release a Texan imprisoned under murky and unusual circumstances, Mark Swidan. His case speaks to how the U.S., like other Western powers, has limited leverage in its efforts on behalf of citizens it says are arbitrarily detained in China’s opaque justice system.

Persons: Mark Swidan Organizations: United Locations: United Nations, China, U.S

☆ Factbox-Foreign Nationals Detained in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Here are some other high-profile cases of foreign nationals detained in China:YANG HENGJUNThe Australian writer has been detained in China for more than three years, and in 2021 was tried in Beijing on undisclosed national security charges. His arrest coincided with worsening relations between Australia and China and a verdict in his case has been repeatedly delayed. JAPANESE BUSINESSMANA Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc, who has not been identified publicly, was detained in Beijing in March on suspicion of espionage, sending a chill through the Japanese business community in China. The Chinese foreign ministry, when asked last month if the Japanese employee had been arrested, said foreign nationals in China must abide by the country's laws or be prosecuted otherwise. KAI LILi, who is Chinese-American, has been detained in China since 2016.

Persons: Cheng Lei, YANG HENGJUN, Yang, ROBERT SCHELLENBERG, Meng Wanzhou, MARK SWIDAN, Katherine Swidan, KAI LI Li, Harrison Li, Laurie Chen, Don Durfee, Robert Birsel Organizations: Astellas Pharma Inc, Kyodo, Huawei, United, Reuters Locations: BEIJING, Australian, China, Beijing, Australia, United States, Vancouver, Canada, MARK SWIDAN The Texas, United Nations

☆ Foreign nationals detained in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Cheng Lei, YANG HENGJUN, Yang, ROBERT SCHELLENBERG, Meng Wanzhou, MARK SWIDAN, Katherine Swidan, KAI LI Li, Harrison Li, Laurie Chen, Don Durfee, Robert Birsel Organizations: Astellas Pharma Inc, Kyodo, Huawei, United, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Australian, China, Beijing, Australia, United States, Vancouver, Canada, MARK SWIDAN The Texas, United Nations

☆ Blinken 'actively talking' about three Americans detained in China - CBS News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday the United States and China were continuing to discuss the release of three U.S. citizens who are detained in China. "I don't want to get into the details, but we are very actively talking about that," Blinken said in an interview with CBS News. Blinken said the United States has a commitment to continue to work on resolving all three cases. "I not only raised, but talked some length about the individual cases of the detained Americans," he said in the interview, held as he finished a rare trip to Beijing. "It (their release) would, regardless of anything else be a very important and positive development and we're working intensely," Blinken said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, David Lin, Kai Li, Mark Swidan, Patricia Zengerle, Sandra Maler Organizations: United, CBS News, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Texas, Washington, Beijing

I think neither side wants to look as if they’re accepting or acquiescing to the other’s actions,” she said. But hope might not turn into reality, and relations might become worse after the visit,” he added. “We prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”Blinken would not predict whether his visit would pave the way for continued high-level engagements between the US and China. “As to what comes next, let’s see how the visit goes,” the top US diplomat said Friday, referencing comments from his Singaporean counterpart. “This is an important but, in a sense, insufficient step because there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe, Biden, Xi, ” Blinken, Vivian Balakrishnan, Blinken, “, Daniel Kritenbrink, “ we’re, ” Patricia Kim, ”, ’ Blinken, Kai Li, Mark Swidan, David Lin, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, Shen Dingli, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Shen, ” Shen Organizations: CNN, senior State Department, Singaporean, State, East Asian, Pacific Affairs, Brookings Institution, Saturday, Defense, Chinese Defense, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Locations: Beijing, United States, China, Bali, Taiwan, Ukraine, Vienna, Washington, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ Blinken to travel to China this weekend as US looks to reset relations after spy balloon incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing this weekend, the State Department announced on Wednesday – a significant trip that comes as the Biden administration navigates its complicated relationship with China. Blinken was originally set to travel to Beijing in early February, but postponed his trip due to a Chinese spy balloon transiting the US. Blinken will be the first Cabinet official to travel to China under the Biden administration, and the first since 2019. Blinken will ‘advocate strongly’ for military to military communicationsPrior to the public announcement of the trip, Blinken spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Campbell told reporters that Blinken will “advocate strongly” for the need for appropriate military to military communications.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Biden, Blinken, “, Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, ”, Jake Sullivan, Kritenbrink, Kurt Campbell, Matthew Miller, Xi Jinping, Campbell, Qin Gang, Qin, ” Kritenbrink, ” Campbell, National Defense Li Shangfu, Defense Lloyd Austin, “ We’ve, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, David Lin Organizations: CNN, State Department, State, East Asian, Pacific Affairs, National, “, Foreign, Ministry, China’s, National Defense, Defense Locations: Beijing, China, United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Russia, Singapore

☆ American jailed for spying by China rubbed shoulders with senior Chinese officials, CNN reporting shows, CNN reporting shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“He’s a very famous person, known by many overseas Chinese in the southern US,” Tang said. Reports published by Chinese-language media in Texas and China’s state media show Leung’s long-running access to senior Chinese officials. In 2014, he met with the director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office during a visit to Nanjing, the provincial capital. This photo shows John Leung with Wang Hua, the former director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. It also comes as American and Chinese officials are resuming high-level engagements since a dispute over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shattered efforts to mend ties earlier this year.

CNN —The US State Department said Thursday it is “disappointed” by a Chinese court’s decision to uphold the death sentence for American citizen Mark Swidan and called for his immediate release. “Today the People’s Republic of China’s Jiangmen Intermediate Court denied wrongfully detained US national Mark Swidan’s appeal, and upheld his death penalty with a two-year suspended death sentence,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement. “We are disappointed by this decision and will continue to press for his immediate release and return to the United States,” Patel said. He was convicted of manufacturing and trafficking drugs in 2019 by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. Under Chinese law, the reprieve means Swidan’s sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, subject to his conduct during this period.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li's son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. Burns wanted to shake Li's hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said.

Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November with that goal in mind and both leaders pledged more frequent communications. He has also sidelined some of his "wolf warrior" diplomats whose strident rhetoric alienated many of China's trade partners. Despite such pragmatic rhetoric, China's actions - especially its military activity around Taiwan and in the South China Sea - have not moderated, analysts said. Washington hopes for incremental progress on more specific but vital matters such as securing China's cooperation on fentanyl, global health, climate change and the cases of U.S. citizens detained there. That ... is more than deeply frustrating," said another source familiar with the administration's thinking, adding that China has rebuffed Washington's "very specific" proposals.

"My message for Blinken is: say their names," said Katherine Swidan in a phone interview from her home in Luling, Texas. They've been wrongfully detained. And, unlike Griner, the U.S. citizens held in China are not well known to the American public. Families of detained Americans say the freedom of their relatives should not be bundled up with challenging policy issues and should instead be addressed in a separate track focused on humanitarian matters. There have been talks in recent months, Li said, between Washington and Beijing over the Americans detained in China but they did not go anywhere.

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