Ai Weiwei ‘would like’ to return to China if he would not be detained again

Weiwei, who has long been an outspoken critic of China, was detained by the authorities for nearly three months in 2011.

The new Ai Weiwei: Making Sense exhibition at the Design Museum in London (James Manning/PA)

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has said he “would like” to return to his home country if the state does not put him in “jail secretly again”.

The 65-year-old, who worked on the design of Beijing’s Olympic stadium and filled a hall in the Tate Modern with porcelain sunflower seeds, will open what has been described as his first design-focused exhibition at the Design Museum in London on Friday.