Lin’s release raises hopes for two other US citizens detained in China and considered wrongfully detained by Washington.
China has freed David Lin, a pastor from the United States who had been in jail since 2006, the US State Department said.
Lin, now 68, was jailed for life after being found guilty of contract fraud.
Washington designated him wrongfully detained and had been urging Beijing to free him for years.
“We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” said a State Department spokesperson.
Lin’s daughter Alice earlier told the Politico media outlet that her father was expected to arrive in Texas on Sunday.
“No words can express the joy we have — we have a lot of time to make up for,” Politico quoted her as saying.
In addition to Lin, China has detained several other US citizens, including Kai Li, a businessman accused of spying in 2016.
Last November, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged President Joe Biden to use a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to push for the release of Lin, Li and a third detainee, Mark Swidan.
Washington says the three were wrongfully detained. China says such cases are handled according to the law.
“Our hope is that David’s release creates the space for additional diplomacy” to free Swidan and Li, Politico quoted a US official, who was familiar with the negotiations, as saying.
Lin’s release comes just weeks after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing.
A congressional commission is due to hold a hearing this Wednesday on the case of US citizens imprisoned in China.
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Al Jazeera and news agencies