China not safe for American students

OPINION:

During his state visit to Washington last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would be inviting 100,000 American students to study in China over the next five years.

Not a single American student should take him up on the offer unless they want to risk being where Myanmar-born American scholar Min Zin is right now: in a Chinese jail.

On June 3, Min Zin, an American citizen and prominent scholar, entered China after being invited to attend an academic conference at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences. Immediately upon landing at Kunming Changshui International Airport, he sent his wife and teenage daughter a message saying he had arrived safely.

That was the last time they heard directly from him.

After being held incommunicado for more than a week, Mr. Zin was arrested and then publicly accused of “espionage” — an accusation backed by no evidence. For more than 113 days, he has been unjustly detained, and Chinese authorities have subjected him to marathon interrogations, psychological coercion and restrictions on his religious practice.

Mr. Zin has been denied access to his legal team, and neither any evidence nor formal charges have been forthcoming.

Sadly, his case is not an anomaly. As the Congressional Executive Commission on China notes, “There are more Americans detained in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) than anywhere else in the world,” with estimates reaching as high as 200 to 300 American citizens suffering under detention, exit bans or other coercive measures.

Another American citizen and academic, Youlin Chen, has been arbitrarily detained in China since November 2024.

These detentions paint Mr. Xi’s “invitation” in a far more sinister light. Critics have already expressed concern about students visiting China being surveilled, having their intellectual property stolen and being subjected to communist propaganda operations.

These concerns are all very real. Also very real is the risk of arbitrary arrest in China.

The fact that Min Zin, an American citizen, was specifically lured to China under the guise of an academic conference to be arrested should terrify any prospective American student.

It should also be more than enough for American policymakers and universities to take a stand and refuse to risk the lives of additional American students. In Mr. Xi’s China, there is no guarantee that they will not also be arrested and used as political pawns and prisoners.

President Trump rightly touts his impressive record in bringing Americans home from arbitrary detention around the world. There is no greater imperative for an American president than to ensure the security and safety of U.S. citizens. Yet as long as China continues to detain American citizens such as Mr. Chen and Min Zin, China is not safe for American students.

The U.S. should firmly reject Mr. Xi’s evil bargain, and the State Department should reinforce its “D” indicator — denoting a risk of wrongful detention — to the current travel advisory for China so that all Americans understand this threat. We should also raise the threat level from Level 2 to Level 3, indicating that Americans should reconsider travel because of serious risks to safety and security.

These steps would protect the safety of Americans considering travel abroad while telling Mr. Xi that there will be consequences if our citizens remain arbitrarily detained.

Mr. Xi said during his recent White House visit that “the hope of China-U.S. relationship lies in our people.” Right now, he is holding our people hostage. Until he releases American citizens such as Min Zin and Mr. Chen and demonstrably verifies this will not happen again, we should give him 100,000 rejections.

• Carrie Filipetti, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the first Trump administration, is executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a Wilson Center distinguished fellow.