The US issued the call in an unusual public statement delivered by the American embassy's deputy chief of mission, Robert Goldberg, outside the Beijing court where the appeal by geologist Xue Feng was due to be heard.

"We urge the Chinese to grant Dr Xue humanitarian release and immediate deportation so that he can return home to the US and reunite with his family," Goldberg said, reading out the statement on behalf of ambassador Jon Huntsman.

Xue, a Chinese-born US citizen working for a private firm, was detained in November 2007 over the sale of a database on China's oil industry, and was sentenced in July to eight years in jail for violating state secrets.

The United States has repeatedly raised concerns over whether Xue's rights were being protected and whether he had access to a fair trial.

President Barack Obama has personally raised Xue's case with Chinese President Hu Jintao, US diplomats have said previously.

US consular officials have visited Xue on numerous occasions since his detention but Goldberg said China was barring them from the appeals hearing in violation of bilateral agreements.

"We made a formal request to attend Dr Xue's appeals hearing and provide him consular representation and support, as is our right under the 1980 US-China consular convention," Goldberg said.

"Regrettably the Beijing High People's Court denied this request."

The embassy has filed a formal protest with China's foreign ministry, he said.

"We urge the (Beijing High People's Court) and the Chinese government to ensure fairness and transparency in the process of Dr Xue's appeal," Goldberg said.

Court staff denied knowledge of the case when contacted by AFP. It was not known when a ruling on the appeal would be issued.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei defended the handling of the case during a regular press briefing.

"The Chinese judicial authorities will handle the case according to law and continue to fulfil our obligations according to the China-US treaty on consular affairs," Hong said, refusing to comment further.

At the time of his arrest, Xue was working for US energy and engineering consulting firm IHS Inc.

Both Xue and IHS have stated that they believed the database to be a commercially available product. It was only classified as a state secret after Xue had bought it, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a rights group.

Goldberg said the case has not been handled with the "transparency that would befit a nation which tells us that the rule of law is paramount in all judicial processes."

Xue's arrest and other cases have cast a spotlight on the pitfalls of doing business in China, especially for those born in China who have been educated abroad and taken on a foreign nationality.

Goldberg said the US embassy had been contacted previously by American citizens of Chinese descent who complain they face "different standards" of treatment, particularly in business.

Australian national Stern Hu, an executive with the mining giant Rio Tinto, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March on bribery and trade secrets charges, in a case that raised hackles in Canberra.

Rights activists say China routinely abuses its state secrets laws, typically as a way to silence government critics.

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