The exchange was reportedly months in the making, and included the release of at least one Chinese citizen in US custody.

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

The White House said Wednesday it had secured the release of three Americans who had been detained in China as part of a prisoner swap with Beijing. A spokesperson for the National Security Council confirmed in a statement that Mark Swidan,