Son of US businessman jailed in China on spy charges asks Donald Trump to plead father Kai Li’s case with Xi Jinping at G20

The family of an American businessman sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in China on spying charges is urging US President Donald Trump to raise his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders meet this week at the Group of 20 summit in Japan.

Harrison Li, the son of the New York-based aircraft parts exporter Kai Li, is calling on Trump to raise the case of his father – believed to be the only American citizen held in China on state security charges – during a meeting with Xi this week, when Trump is expected to seek the release of two Canadians similarly detained by China’s opaque security apparatus.

The encounter between Trump and Xi in Osaka appears likely to be dominated by the two countries’ disagreements over trade and technology, but the fate of detained Chinese and Canadian citizens caught in the escalating disputes could also be on the table.

Harrison Li said his father, who immigrated from China in 1989 as a student, acknowledged in a letter from detention that he routinely contacted US government agencies as part of his work.

His father may have been referring to his filings for export licences, Li speculated. He insisted that his father’s imprisonment was a “giant mistake”.

“My father is an innocent US citizen in the crosshairs of some broader geopolitical conflict,” Li said. “He’s being used as a negotiating chip, a pawn, like unfortunately many other foreign citizens have been.”