A court in China has sentenced a citizen of Canada to death after being found guilty of producing illegal drugs. Tensions between China and Canada have escalated recently.
The Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court on Thursday sentenced Canadian Xu Weihong's to death and said accomplice Wen Guanxiong had been given life in prison. Death sentences are automatically referred to China's highest court for evaluation.
Relations between China and Canada deteriorated after the arrest of a top Huawei executive in Canada. Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the U.S. on allegations of covertly infringing on U.S. sanctions on Iran. A judge has since determined Meng should be extradited to the U.S.
News media in Guangzhou, southern China, said Xu and Wen started producing ketamine in October 2016. Narcotics agents seized 120 kilograms (266 pounds) of the drug from Xu's home and another address, reports said.
Based on the court statement Xu's personal property would be confiscated. Like many countries in Asia, China hands out stiff penalties for producing and selling illegal drugs.
In 2019 China sentenced Canadians Fan Wei and Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death on drug charges in separate cases. Both men have filed appeals. Two other Canadians - businessman Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat - were arrested in China in December and charged in June with espionage.
The U.S. wants Meng extradited to face charges of fraud over her company's alleged dealings with Iran. Her arrest angered China which views her case as a political move intended to prevent China's ascension as an international technology power.
Ketamine is an animal tranquilizer but has become popular as a recreational drug. China foreign ministry representative Wang Wenbin said there was no link between the case and the current state of China-Canada ties.
