Leading Chinese Dissident Wei Jingsheng Again Detained

China’s leading dissident was detained by police Friday as he returned to Beijing from nearly a month traveling in the northeast, his secretary said.

The detention of Wei Jingsheng may complicate efforts by the United States and China to prevent relations from deteriorating further over human rights differences.

The Clinton Administration is threatening to revoke China’s low-tariff trading privileges in June unless Beijing improves its human rights record. Former Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance met with China’s foreign minister Tuesday, but Vance refused to say afterward whether he carried any new messages from the White House.

In a mildly worded statement, the United States said Friday that it regretted the renewed detention of Wei.

“If true, we regret that the Chinese government has taken this further step to harass Wei and urge that he be released,” a State Department spokeswoman said.

A caravan of at least seven police cars carrying about 20 officers stopped Wei’s car as it neared Beijing on the highway from the nearby port city of Tianjin, according to Wei’s secretary, Tong Yi.

Police showed the dissident a “detention and interrogation warrant,” placed him in a police car and drove toward Beijing, according to Tong, who said she was with Wei at the time.

She said she did not read the summons and did not know why he was taken away.

Wei was released from prison on parole last September after serving all but six months of his 15-year sentence for his activism. He has continued his campaign to promote democracy and human rights in Communist China.