Chinese Foreign Ministry: Detained researcher in Iran not Chinese

BEIJING - 17 July 2017: The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied on Monday media reports that the American researcher sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying in Iran had a dual nationality.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a press statement that American researcher Xiyue Wang, 37, was not a Chinese citizen, because China does not recognize dual nationality.

He added that as long as he held an American nationality, he cannot be a Chinese citizen.