A Chinese court today sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in jail in a spying case related to Huawei.
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Canadian Ambassador Dominic Barton attended Spavor's hearing in Dandong city.
Spavor and another Canadian were detained in China in what critics termed "tit-for-tat actions" by China as Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei technologies.
A Canadian court will hear final arguments in the next few weeks over whether to hand over Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei technologies, to face U.S. criminal charges in connection with possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran.
Beijing has repeatedly criticised Meng's arrest as part of U.S. efforts alongside European partners to hamper China's technology development, and has repeatedly demanded Meng's immediate release.
While China has been denying a direct connection between her case and the arrests of Canadians Michael Spavor and Kovrig, Chinese officials insist the two men's fates hinge on whether Meng is allowed to return to China.
At the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, Deputy Head of Mission Jim Nickel said the timing of the detentions of the two aforementioned Canadians and words from the Chinese government reveal that Beijing was "arbitrarily detaining for the purpose of political leverage."
The Huawei case is one of a series of conflicts between Beijing and other governments over China's technology ambitions, human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, and territorial claims in the South China and East China seas.
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