The State Department announced the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung. A U.S. government official told NBC News the three were exchanged for two Chinese detainees.

Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States, the White House said Wednesday, announcing a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration.

Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released from detention, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.

The three US nationals were swapped for four people, including three Chinese citizens who were returned to China. View on euronews

By Simon Lewis, Trevor Hunnicutt and Colleen Howe WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) -China and the U.S. have each released three citizens both governments said were wrongfully detained in the other country,

Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are en route back to the United States from imprisonment in China, the White House said.

Three Americans who the State Department said were wrongfully detained in China for years are on their way back to the U.S. as part of a prisoner swap, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the deal told ABC News.

A U.S. official said President Joe Biden pressed for the return of the three when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping at a regional summit in Peru.

The United States has brokered the release of three Americans in a deal with China that includes the exchange of unidentified Chinese citizens held in the U.S., Politico said on Wednesday citing an unnamed U.