Trump Says He Raised Political Prisoner Cases With Xi During US-China Talks

US President Donald Trump said he discussed the release of political prisoners with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting last week, adding a human rights issue to the broader agenda of the recent US-China talks.

Trump made the comments on Wednesday when reporters asked whether he had raised cases involving people detained in China, including US citizen and Myanmar scholar Min Zin and Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

"I did with President Xi. I did," Trump said, adding that the two leaders had held what he described as important discussions and expressing hope that they would produce results.

Jimmy Lai and Min Zin Cases

Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and a prominent critic of China's government in Hong Kong, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February after being convicted in a national security case.

Min Zin, a Myanmar scholar who is also a US citizen, was arrested by Chinese authorities in June. Washington formally designated him as wrongfully detained in August.

The White House had indicated before Xi's visit that Trump was expected to raise cases involving Americans and other people it considers wrongfully detained in China.

Broader Human Rights Issues Unclear

It remains unclear whether Trump raised broader issues concerning China's treatment of Tibetan and Uyghur communities or Beijing's policies toward political dissent during the meeting.

The White House has not provided details about which individual cases were discussed or whether any commitments were made by Beijing regarding the release of prisoners.

US-China Talks Covered Wider Issues

The discussion took place during a high-level US-China engagement that included a range of economic and diplomatic matters. Trump has made securing the release of Americans detained overseas an issue in his foreign policy, including in dealings with China.

However, the details of the political prisoner discussion remain limited. Trump said the talks were potentially productive, but neither side has publicly announced a specific agreement concerning the individuals mentioned by US officials.