U.S. seeks release of geologist in China secrets case

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States is seeking the release of an American citizen detained in Beijing for two years, in a case similar to the detentions of Rio Tinto staff which launched an international debate over China's secrets laws.

Xue Feng, a geologist born in China, was detained late in 2007 after negotiating the sale of an oil industry database to his employer at the time, a U.S.-based consultancy.

"The U.S. embassy in Beijing has raised Dr. Xue's case with the Chinese government repeatedly at high levels for the past two years," embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said in an e-mail on Friday.

"We encourage China to grant Dr. Xue humanitarian release and immediately deport him back to the United States."

Xue's case was not public until this week, due to his wife's fears that publicity would make things worse for her husband, said Jerome Cohen, a legal expert advising Xue's family.

Embassy staff have been able to visit Xue monthly, as required by agreements between China and the United States.

The case was among a list raised during the visit to Beijing this week of U.S. president Barack Obama, Cohen said.

Like that of Stern Hu, a naturalized Australian citizen who was detained along with three Chinese colleagues in Shanghai in July, Xue's case raises questions about the limits of China's secrets laws, and how they apply to commercial information, said Cohen.

"He's being charged with the export of intelligence, with sending it abroad," Cohen said.

"'Intelligence' is something broader than state secrets. What is it? What defines it? How can you tell if what you are acquiring is a state secret or merely commercial information that is valuable?"

China's state secrets laws are vague about what defines a secret, and enforcement of these laws is further complicated by the complex ties between state-owned firms and the government.

Topics that have been considered state secrets include gold reserves, geological data, information about currency movements, economic indicators and contamination from a uranium mine, as well as more internationally common topics like military secrets.

The Rio Tinto employees were detained this summer at the height of acrimonious negotiations over term iron ore prices between the Chinese steel industry and the world's top three miners, including Rio.

After an outcry from Australia, the four were formally arrested under the less serious charges of bribery and stealing commercial secrets. Last week, Australia's foreign minister said the investigation period had been extended by another two months, to mid-January.

(Editing by Sugita Katyal)