US secures release of 3 Americans in prisoner swap with China

(CNN) — Three Americans who had been detained in China for years have been released in a prisoner swap between Washington and Beijing.

“We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung from detention in the People’s Republic of China,” a US National Security Council spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday. “Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.”

The Americans were released in exchange for unidentified Chinese nationals and are now in US custody, according to a US official. On Wednesday, the US also lowered its travel advisory level to Level 2: Exercise increased caution for mainland China. Politico first reported the release of the Americans.

“Thanks to this Administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,” the spokesperson said Wednesday.

Li and Swidan had been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.

Their release takes place fewer than two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. It follows years of quiet diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration, with President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan and other US officials engaging with their counterparts on the matter.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment for this story.

In a statement Wednesday evening, Kai Li’s son, Harrison Li, said his family “enthusiastically welcomes the news that Kai has been released from captivity after just over 3,000 days of wrongful detention.”

“We express our deepest gratitude to the many agencies, individuals, and non-governmental organizations that made this day possible,” Harrison Li wrote, expressing particular gratitude to Biden, the National Security Council and the State Department.

“Even without the pressure of a looming election, they delivered just in time for the holidays,” he said.

He thanked US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for visiting his father three times and the US Consulate in Shanghai for “ensuring Kai’s physical and mental well-being throughout his detention.”

“We urge President Joe Biden to use the remaining days in his administration to bring home the remaining Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Harrison Li said.

Another wrongfully detained American, David Lin, was freed from China in September.

The Biden administration has secured the release of dozens of Americans detained or held hostage abroad. However, unlike in other cases, where the release of Americans was publicly heralded as diplomatic wins, Lin’s release was kept quiet so as not to derail the sensitive negotiations.

On Wednesday, a number of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed joy that Swidan, Li, and Leung were returning home.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, normally a Biden administration critic, praised the administration’s work to secure the release of the three Americans from China.

Swidan’s mother, Katherine Swidan, lives in Texas and is a Cruz constituent.

The Texas senator said in a statement Wednesday that “President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Carstens, Ambassador Burns, and their teams have for years worked tirelessly to secure this achievement, and I am deeply grateful for all their efforts.”

“Negotiations aimed at securing the release of unjustly held Americans are among the most difficult and wrenching tasks that our diplomats face, and they have shown unceasing dedication culminating in today’s release,” he said. “This joyous news would not have occurred, and these families would not have been reunited, without their work and commitment.”

Republican House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said he was “overjoyed to hear Kai, John, and Mark will be reunited with their families in the U.S., just in time for the holidays.”

“The United States and its partners around the world must stand resolute in their commitment to combatting hostage diplomacy and returning home those who are wrongfully detained,” the Texas Republican said.

Democratic House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks said he was “thrilled” by the release of the three Americans, calling it “a testament to the power of diplomacy.”

Li and Swidan’s families have been strong advocates for their loved ones’ release and continually pushed the administration to do more to bring them home.

Harrison Li regularly traveled to Washington to raise the case of his father, who was detained in 2016 and had been serving a ten-year prison sentence on charges of espionage.

In 2023, Harrison Li told CNN he was concerned that he might never see his father again. “God forbid, is my dad going to come home in a box?” he asked at the time. “I just don’t know at this point and given the conditions and the situation in China, it’s actually quite scary.”

Mark Swidan’s mother Katherine Swidan also worried her son might not make it home alive. He was detained in 2012 on drug-related charges. He had spent more than a decade detained in what his mother described as a “holding tank,” where she said he had undergone physical and psychological torture and has attempted suicide. He was sentenced to death in 2019.

Leung was detained in 2021 and was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison on spying charges. Leung is a veteran leader of several pro-Beijing groups in the United States, who has rubbed shoulders for years with senior Chinese government officials.

CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.