SHANGHAI - A US citizen has been released from a jail in China after serving 10 years of a 16-year term, a US official said on Thursday.

Mr Jude Shao was released from a Shanghai jail on parole on Wednesday, a US embassy spokesman in Beijing, Ms Diane Sovereign, told AFP.

'US ambassador Clark Randt has spoken to Shao by telephone, confirming and welcoming his release from prison,' she said.

'We welcome this development and urge China to continue to make progress on other prisoner cases and issues of domestic and international concern, such as those raised at our recent human rights dialogue,' the spokesman said.

Mr Shao was arrested in 1998 and convicted of tax evasion in March 2000 when his 16-year sentence was handed down, according to the www.freejudeshao.com, a website set up by his former classmates at Stanford Business School.

He maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal and had cited numerous procedural irregularities in his trial and conviction, the website said.

Mr Shao was born in China but became a US citizen before being jailed. -- AFP