The US has called for the release of 30 leaders of one of China's largest underground church network who were reportedly detained over the weekend in overnight raids in various cities.
The list includes several pastors and Zion Church founder Jin Mingri who was arrested in the early hours of Saturday after 10 officers searched his home, US-based non-profit ChinaAid said.
The Chinese Communist Party promotes atheism and tightly controls religion - still, some Christian groups are calling this the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades.
Christians have long been pressured to join only state-sanctioned churches that are led by government-approved pastors and toe the party line.
It is unclear if the detainees have been formally charged.
Such systematic persecution is not only an affront to the Church of God but also a public challenge to the international community, Zion Church said in a statement.
Urging China to release the church leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Sunday that this crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches.
Former US vice-president Mike Pence and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo have also released statements on X condemning the arrests.
When asked about the arrests at a press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said he was not aware of the case.
He added: The Chinese government governs religious affairs in accordance with the law, and protects the religious freedom of citizens and normal religious activities. We firmly oppose the US interfering in China's internal affairs with so-called religious issues.
This could be yet another source of friction in the US-China relationship with trade tensions once again ramping up between the world's two biggest economies over tariffs and export controls.
Under Xi, Beijing has cracked down even more on religious freedom, especially against Christians and Muslims.
Despite this, there has been a growing movement of unregistered house churches in China, with Zion Church, founded in 2007, expanding to 10,000 members across 40 cities.
ChinaAid has labeled this roundup of Christian leaders unprecedented, calling it the most extensive and coordinated wave of persecution against Christians in over four decades.
In a letter seeking prayers, Mr Jin's wife stated her heart is filled with a mix of shock, grief, sorrow, worry, and righteous anger.
Sean Long, a pastor based in the US, mentioned that Mr Jin anticipated a crackdown of this magnitude.
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