The State Department downgraded its travel advisory for China on Wednesday after the release of three U.S. citizens who had been held in the country for years.

The three Americans released by Beijing are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained by China. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.

The State Department on Wednesday downgraded its travel advisory for China, shortly after the White House announced it had secured the release of three Americans as part of a prisoner swap with

The White House on Wednesday announced that China released Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung. Swidan and Li were considered wrongfully detained. China also released an American pastor earlier this year.

Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States, the White House said Wednesday, announcing a diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration.

China has released U.S. citizens Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, the White House said on Wednesday, concluding years of diplomacy over Americans that Washington says were wrongfully detained in China.

Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung were all released and were designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

The exchange, in which three Americans were freed Wednesday, played a role in the State Department’s downgrading of the travel advisory for China.