China overturns death sentence for Canadian in drug case

Flags of Canada and China in Beijing, China on Dec. 5, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Fred Dufour, Pool Photo

China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, Canada confirmed Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.

Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China–Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians -- Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig -- on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory.

Then, in January 2019, a court in northeast China retried Schellenberg, who was 36 at the time, sentencing him to death while declaring that his 15‑year prison term for drug trafficking had been too lenient.

The court said he had been a central player in a scheme to ship narcotics to Australia, in a one-day retrial that Amnesty International called “a flagrant violation of international law.”

Schellenberg has denied wrongdoing.

The Canadian official requested anonymity in confirming the decision by China’s highest court to overturn Schellenberg’s death sentence.

Carney, who took office last year, visited China in January as part of his global effort to broaden Canada’s export markets to reduce trade reliance on the United States.

“Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is aware of a decision issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China in Mr. Robert Schellenber’s case,” foreign ministry spokesperson Thida Ith said in a statement sent to AFP.

Ith said the ministry “will continue to provide consular services to Mr. Schellenberg and to his family,” adding: “Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty.”

New partners

Key sectors of the Canadian economy have been hammered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and Carney has said Canada can no longer count on the United States as a reliable trading partner.

Carney says that despite ongoing tensions, including allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections, Ottawa needs a functioning relationship with Beijing to safeguard its economic future.

When in Beijing last month, Carney met Chinese President Xi Jinping and heralded an improved era in relations -- saying the two countries had struck a “new strategic partnership” and a preliminary trade deal.

Global Affairs Canada did not comment on whether diplomacy during Carney’s visit related to Schellenberg’s case impacted the Chinese court decision.

“Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be provided,” Ith said.

Meng, who had initially been charged with scheming to evade US sanctions on Iran, was freed in September 2021.

Spavor and Kovrig were released the same month.