China arrests US scholar over spying allegations, foreign ministry confirms

Chinese authorities have arrested US researcher suspected of spying.China said it is holding an American citizen accused of espionage, identifying the man as a political analyst at a policy think tank focusing on neighbouring Myanmar.

Importantly China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have also confirmed the arrest of the man on suspicion of “spying” and “endangering national security” on Friday, a day after United States media reports said a scholar holding dual US and Myanmar citizenship was detained in early June.

Min Zin – a founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M) – “has been subjected to criminal compulsory measures”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

Lin said China had notified the US consulate general in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou of the arrest.

The ISP-M researches the political, resource and conflict dynamics of Myanmar, which was plunged into civil war by a 2021 coup.

News of the arrest comes as Beijing’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing is set to visit China from June 15 to 19.

Known to be a student activist during Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy movement, Min Zin fled to Thailand to escape arrest by the military government.

He later went to the US to study and also returned to Myanmar in 2010.

Min Zin is also a Ph.D candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Additionally,the arrest also follows US President Donald Trump’s state visit to China in mid-May as Washington attempted to ease tensions resulting from the tariff war Trump ignited last year.

Amnesty International, the human rights organization, called for Min Zin’s immediate release.

“The circumstances around Min Zin’s mysterious arrest are extremely concerning, as is the apparent charge of espionage,” said Joe Freeman, a Myanmar researcher for the group.

Recently, US newspaper also previously accused China of spying on US and allied nations.