BEIJING, July 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China has released pastor Ezra Jin, the founder of an underground church who has been detained since October, his church confirmed to AFP on Sunday.

Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of China's unregistered churches that some Christians choose to worship at instead of state-sanctioned ones regulated by the government.

Jin, also known by his Chinese name Mingri, was detained on October 10 on "suspicion of the illegal use of information networks".

US President Donald Trump raised his case when he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in May.

On Saturday, rights group ChinaAid said in a statement that Jin had arrived in Los Angeles after being released from detention in China.

The pastor was told by Chinese officials that his release "resulted from discussions between US President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and was presented as a goodwill gesture coinciding with America's Independence Day", the statement said.

"We thank God for this tremendous miracle," Jin's daughter Grace said in a statement shared by a church member with AFP.

"We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations."

BSS/AFP/MNH/0912HRS