On the 20th (local time), the U.S. Donald Trump administration officially designated Min Zin, a Myanmar-born U.S. scholar arrested in China on espionage charges, as "wrongfully detained" and urged Beijing to release him.

This measure comes about a month before Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S., raising the possibility that diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the detention will intensify.

In a statement that day, Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said, "Secretary of State Rubio has determined that U.S. citizen Min Zin is being wrongfully detained in China," explaining that this follows an extensive review of the circumstances surrounding his detention.

He added, "The safety and security of U.S. citizens is the State Department's top priority," and stated, "We will continue to speak out on behalf of Mr. Zin and will urge the release of all U.S. citizens who are arbitrarily detained or subject to exit bans in China."

According to the State Department and U.S. media, there are currently two U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in China: Mr. Zin, originally from Myanmar, and Dr. Yulin Chen, a Chinese-American seismologist.

Mr. Zin was detained in Yunnan Province, China, on June 3 while visiting the country to attend an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Mr. Zin was a student activist who participated in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar before seeking asylum in the United States.

Having founded a think tank in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that focuses on Myanmar's strategic policies, he has publicly expressed his views on issues such as the expansion of Chinese influence in Myanmar. In particular, he has focused on rare earth mines in Kachin State in northern Myanmar and Chinese-backed infrastructure investments.

A senior State Department official said, "Mr. Zin was detained at the airport and has been subjected to repeated interrogations, isolation, and detention for nearly 11 weeks."

Previously, Chinese authorities confirmed the arrest of Mr. Zin, stating that he is suspected of espionage and threatening China's national security. Human rights groups reported that Mr. Zin's detention occurred amid deepening ties between China and the Myanmar military junta.

Human rights activists have long criticized China for engaging in so-called "hostage diplomacy," where it detains foreigners, including Americans, to gain leverage in bilateral relations.

While the Trump administration has generally refrained from criticizing China's human rights situation, it remains to be seen how this designation of wrongful detention will affect U.S.-China relations as tensions persist over trade and other pending issues.