The Chinese government has freed three Americans who were serving lengthy sentences for accusations of spying and drug-related crimes, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office again.
The announcement of their release came from the Biden administration, though it remains unclear whether it was part of a larger negotiation with Beijing or a goodwill gesture following Trump’s recent threats. On Monday, Trump, 78, warned of imposing a new 10% tariff on China in response to the country’s role in fentanyl exports.
Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung had garnered significant support from high-profile Americans who argued the charges against them were baseless.
Swidan, a businessman from Texas, faced a death sentence after being arrested in 2012 for questionable drug charges. Among his vocal supporters was actor Mel Gibson.
Li, a solar energy entrepreneur detained since 2016, had been serving a 10-year sentence on charges of state security violations. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was one of Li’s prominent advocates.
During a congressional delegation trip to China last year, Schumer personally addressed Li’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Leung, detained in April 2021, had been sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged espionage.
“Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the White House said in its statement.
Schumer expressed gratitude to Biden, 82, for achieving the group’s release.
“President Biden’s personal engagement with President Xi made this joyous day possible,” Schumer stated. “Thanks to President Biden, all wrongfully detained Americans held in the People’s Republic of China will soon be home.”
Biden had recently met Xi face-to-face during the APEC summit in Lima, Peru.
Meanwhile, Trump has promised a stricter stance toward China as he prepares to return to the White House on Jan. 20. His focus has included addressing fentanyl exports, which he blamed for the deaths of nearly 300,000 Americans during Biden’s tenure, citing preliminary federal estimates.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” Trump said in a statement on Monday.
“Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before. Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”
Trump, who aggressively negotiated for the release of Americans during his first term, has also suggested making China pay $50 trillion in “reparations” for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the FBI attributes to a lab leak in Wuhan.
Last year, Trump proposed convening a “global summit on reparations.”
Republicans have often accused Biden of being overly lenient with China, alleging that financial ties between Chinese entities and members of Biden’s family are to blame. They point to millions of dollars reportedly received by Hunter Biden and James Biden from Chinese businesses during and after Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
Joe Biden has been linked to meetings with executives of major Chinese enterprises tied to his relatives. In a now-infamous 2017 email, one of Hunter’s associates mentioned a 10% cut for the “big guy,” a term later confirmed by Hunter’s business partners to refer to Joe Biden.
Last year, Trump claimed that Biden “was bribed and now he’s being blackmailed,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Post that Biden’s leniency on China “probably has something to do with business relationships and may very well involve Hunter and James Biden and some of the deals they made over there.”
Despite Republican criticisms, Biden has maintained several of Trump’s tariffs on China and even introduced new ones earlier this year before withdrawing from the presidential race in July.
Trump had implemented steep tariffs in 2018, including a 25% duty on steel and a 10% levy on aluminum imports, targeting most nations, including China. Additional tariffs on Chinese goods ranged from 7.5% to 25%, affecting $362 billion worth of imports—over half of the total trade.
In May, Biden announced new tariffs affecting roughly $18 billion in Chinese imports. These targeted industries such as metals, solar energy, electric vehicles, semiconductors, construction cranes, and medical equipment.
Under Biden’s tariff plan, electric vehicles will face a 100% import tax, while solar panel components will be subjected to a 50% levy over the next two years.
{Matzav.com}