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By John Feng and Micah McCartney
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A U.S. citizen who leads a think-tank focused on Myanmar has been arrested in China on suspicion of spying, the Chinese government said on Friday.
The U.S. State Department said it was "aware of reports regarding a U.S. citizen detained in China."
"The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained, we work to provide the appropriate consular assistance," a spokesperson told Newsweek, adding that the department was unable to comment further at this time because of federal privacy law.
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"Suspected of spying and endangering China's national security, Min Zin has been placed under criminal coercive measures by the relevant authorities," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing.
The U.S. consulate in Guangzhou in southern China has been notified, Lin said, adding: "All of the rights of Min Zin are fully protected."
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The detention of an American citizen on national security-related charges remains a rare occurrence in China. The arrest comes just weeks after President Donald Trump visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing fo a high-profile summit aimed at stabilizing relations between the two global rivals.
"China's arrest of Min Zin is outrageous and unacceptable, showing that Beijing is more than willing to target opponents of its military junta friends in Myanmar," Phil Robertson, director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates, a Bangkok-headquartered NGO, told Newsweek.
"There needs to be urgent rallying of international concern, demanding Min Zin's immediate and unconditional release," Robertson added.
Newsweek reached out to ISP-Myanmar and Myanmar's government with requests for comment.
"China should immediately release Min Zin, an American citizen it has unjustly detained on absurd charges," John Moolenaaar, a republican from Michigan, who chairs the House of Representatives' Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement Monday. "American companies should take note that this is how China treats innocent Americans and stop any work they are doing that supports China's military and oppressive surveillance state."
Who Is Min Zin?
Min Zin is a Myanmar-born U.S. citizen who co-founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar) in 2016. According to a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter, he was detained two weeks ago in Kunming, the capital of China's southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.
Min Zin participated in Myanmar's 1988 democracy movement. He later went into exile in the U.S. to avoid arrest and became a naturalized citizen. He studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley.
"I am very sorry to hear about Min's arrest," Jason Wittenberg, political science professor and formerly Min's dissertation supervisor, told Newsweek. "He is a hard-working Burmese scholar who is dedicated to understanding the military regimes that have plagued his country."
ISP-Myanmar, which currently operates out of Thailand following Myanmar's 2021 military coup, conducts research on conflict, security, socio-economic issues, and Chinese foreign policy. The organization supports the "advancement of democracy, building of a federal union, and strengthening of civil society," its website states.
What Min Zin Has Said on China
Min Zin has written a number of China-related articles for ISP-Myanmar, including on the surge in illegal and unregulated rare earth mining operations that followed the coup.
While China is by far the world's largest producer of rare earths—a group of 17 minerals critical to technologies ranging from electric vehicle batteries to missile guidance systems—Myanmar ranks among its most important suppliers. The country provided roughly two-thirds of China's rare earth imports between 2017 and 2024, according to ISP-Myanmar.
ISP-Myanmar has also published articles without an individual byline that examined Beijing's expanded engagement with Myanmar following its coup, including Chinese priorities such as combating transnational crime along the border and strengthening the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor—a trade route designed to connect China's inland provinces with Southeast Asian markets and ports.
The leader of Myanmar's junta, Min Aung Hlaing, has pledged to expand trade with China. He arrived in Beijing on Monday at President Xi Jinping's invitation for a five-day visit.
Update 6/15/26, 5:07 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a comment from the State Department.
Update 6/15/26, 1:15 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a comment from Jason Wittenberg and additional information.
Update 6/23/26, 4:38 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a comment from Phil Robertson of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates.
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