China has released a leading Uighur political prisoner, a US-based rights group has said.
Rebiya Kadeer, 58, was allowed to leave China for medical treatment in the US, the Dui Hua Foundation said.
Mrs Kadeer, a successful businesswoman, was given eight years' in jail in 2000 for sending press cuttings overseas, "endangering national security".
The release comes ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's arrival in Beijing on Sunday.
The US has said that resolving the case of the Chinese Muslim businesswoman was one of its highest priorities in discussions with China over its human rights record.
Although the release was officially granted for medical reasons, it is thought to have been prompted by Ms Rice's arrival, the BBC's Tony Cheng in Beijing says.