BEIJING: The United States is ready to help Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng if he has changed his decision to leave US protection and wants to leave into exile, a senior US official said Thursday.

The official declined comment on whether the United States would assist him in seeking asylum, saying that Chen's position was unclear. Chen told AFP earlier Thursday that he feared for his safety and wanted to leave China.

Senior US officials were speaking Thursday with Chen, along with Chinese officials, in a bid to determine what the activist is seeking, the official said on condition of anonymity.

“We do not yet have a full view,” the official said, saying that the United States would “clarify whether his position has changed and what he now wants.”

Once his position is clear, “we will do what we can to help him achieve that”, the official said.

Ambassador Gary Locke earlier insisted that Chen had made a voluntary choice to leave and never requested asylum. Locke said the activist was not pressured to leave the embassy, where he fled last week after a dramatic escape from house arrest.

Under the deal Wednesday, the United States said that Chen and his family would be allowed to live in a safe place inside China and that he would study at a university.