The United States and China have conducted a prisoner exchange, according to Politico.

The United States and China conducted a prisoner exchange. It took place in a three-for-three format.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Politico.

According to Politico, China released American citizens Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Lun in exchange for three unidentified citizens of the People's Republic of China. A senior official stated that the exchange was the result of years of "intensive negotiations" between officials from the White House, the State Department, and their Chinese counterparts.

The publication notes that the Americans will return to the U.S. within a few hours.

Additionally, media sources believe that this exchange raises hopes that China may wish to continue negotiations for the release of other U.S. citizens.

Who China Released

The Chinese police arrested American Mark Swidan in the fall of 2012. He was charged with drug manufacturing and trafficking.

In September 2016, Shanghai police detained Kai Li. Two years later, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly spying for the FBI.

Last year, a Chinese court sentenced John Lun to life imprisonment on espionage charges. Beijing claimed that the American had been working for U.S. intelligence agencies since 1989.

We remind you that we reported that Russia released a WSJ journalist and a convicted U.S. Marine as part of a swap.

At the same time, RBK-Ukraine's article provides more details about the case of German citizen Rico Krieger and how he managed to obtain a pardon.