China arrests American Myanmar scholar Min Zin on espionage charges, just weeks after Trump-Xi summit
Chinese authorities have detained Min Zin, founder of a Myanmar-focused think tank and US citizen, accusing him of endangering national security. The arrest took place on 3 June in Kunming and was confirmed by Beijing on Friday.
The arrest
Min Zin, a US citizen and head of the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar (ISP-M), was taken into custody at Kunming airport on 3 June while in China for a conference. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian confirmed the arrest on 12 June, stating that Min Zin was "suspected of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security."
Min Zin has been subjected to criminal coercive measures on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security.
The case surfaced just one month after US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to reset relations. A Burmese activist who knew Min Zin said he disappeared after travelling to Kunming, Yunnan province, a border region he had visited many times before.
Who is Min Zin?
Min Zin was a student activist during Myanmar’s 1988 uprising and later sought asylum in the United States. He holds a master's degree in political science from UC Berkeley and is a PhD candidate there. His institute, initially based in Myanmar, relocated to Chiang Mai, Thailand, after the 2021 military coup. ISP-M published research on Chinese foreign policy, Myanmar’s rare-earth exports to China, and the country’s political transition after General Min Aung Hlaing assumed the presidency in April 2026.
- Participates in Myanmar’s student-led uprising against military rule
- Military coup in Myanmar; ISP-M think tank relocates to Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Detained at Kunming airport while attending a conference
- China's foreign ministry confirms arrest and espionage accusations
Wider context and detentions
The announcement came alongside news that Myanmar’s authorities had detained another American, Adam Castillo, who ran a security consultancy in Yangon. Both Min Zin and Castillo are well known among diplomats and analysts for their commentary on China’s influence in Myanmar’s civil war. Friends and colleagues described a "state of shock" among the community.
We’re in a state of shock.
There is no evidence the arrests were coordinated, but the timing coincides with a planned visit by Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to Beijing next week, where he is expected to meet Xi Jinping.
US-China prisoner diplomacy
China currently holds about 200 US citizens in some form of detention, according to John Kamm, founder of the Dui Hua Foundation. Trump has raised the issue of detainees with Xi during his recent Beijing trip and has pledged to work for the release of political prisoners, possibly ahead of a Chinese presidential visit to the US tentatively planned for September 2026.
China holds about 200 American citizens under some form of detention.
The arrest of Min Zin draws parallels to previous espionage cases involving US citizens in China, such as the 2021 detention of John Shing-wan Leung, who was later released in a prisoner swap in 2024.
