American Seismologist Youlin Chen Scheduled for Espionage Trial in China

American seismologist Youlin Chen is scheduled to stand trial in China on espionage charges nearly two years after Chinese authorities detained him. The 54-year-old Chinese-born U.S. citizen living in Boston published a December 2020 study for the State Department that analyzed seismic records from North Korea's six nuclear detonations between 2006 and 2017.

Chinese officials have questioned Chen more than 100 times about his nuclear-related expertise, according to his wife Yufang Rong. The work included data collected in China and was conducted with Chinese academics before public release. Espionage convictions under Chinese law can carry sentences ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as wrongfully detained on March 19, 2026, making him the only American in China with that formal status. Chen has never held a U.S. government security clearance.

President Donald Trump raised the case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing in mid-May 2026 and later invited Xi to Washington in September. Rong stated that Chinese officials did not respond to Trump's request. "I believe they will convict him no matter what and the trial will be behind closed doors," she told Reuters.

The Trump administration has kept the designation out of major public statements to improve prospects for release.