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.

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

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.

By Simon Lewis and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China has released U.S. citizens Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, the White House said on Wednesday, concluding years of diplomacy over Americans that Washington says were wrongfully detained in China.