Canada was one of the first Western countries to recognize communist China, establishing ties in 1970 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

China has dismissed Canada’s protests of harsh sentences Chinese courts handed to Canadians whose cases are seen as linked to the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei.

A Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian entrepreneur to 11 years in prison in a spying case that has been linked to Beijing’s pressure campaign against Canada's government.

Jim Nickel, center, the deputy chief of mission for the Canadian Embassy in China, and foreign diplomats gather outside the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court as they arrive to attend former diplomat Michael Kovrig's trial in Beijing, Monday, Sept 22, 2021. Canadian diplomats have been refused access to the trials and been told hearings would be held behind closed doors because of alleged national security concerns. He's been arbitrarily detained and now we see that the court process itself is not transparent," Nickel told reporters earlier in the day. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted Beijing for holding the trial “in secret” without access for consular officials.

(AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu)DANDONG – China on Friday put on trial one of two Canadians held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive. Canada said its consular officials were refused permission to attend the proceedings against Michael Spavor, who is accused by China of stealing state secrets. Jim Nickel, the Canadian Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, said the hearing ended at noon Friday after two hours. International and bilateral treaties required that China provide Canadian diplomats access to the trial, but the court said Chinese law regarding trials on state security charges overrode such obligations, Nickel said. Prosecutors have not released details of the charges and national security cases are routinely held behind closed doors.

FILE - In this file image made from March 28, 2018, video, Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. A Communist Party newspaper says China will soon begin trials for two Canadians, Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were arrested in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for Canadas detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. (AP Photo, File)BEIJING – A Communist Party newspaper says China will soon begin trials for two Canadians who were arrested two years ago in apparent retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. The Global Times said Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor “will soon be tried" after they were charged with “crimes undermining China’s national security” in June 2020. Hearings have been delayed because of COVID-19 prevention measures but the court will “push forward the trial soon," the newspaper said.

It says Meng, 48, committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company’s business dealings in Iran. In making its case the U.S. accuses Meng of failing to inform HSBC during the presentation that Huawei controls Skycom. But if the full presentation is viewed, Meng said Huawei had a “normal and controllable” relationship with Skycom. In apparent retaliation, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The extradition case could take years

FILE - In this March 28, 2018, file image made from video, Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. China said Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, it remains firm in its insistence that Canada make the first move to end the detention of two Canadians, following a meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers. (AP Photo, File)BEIJING China said Wednesday it remains firm in its insistence that Canada make the first move to end the detention of two Canadians, following a meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers. Since her detention, China has also sentenced four Canadians convicted on drug charges to death, an unusually high number for foreign suspects held in China. The offering of Meng Wanzhou in exchange for Kovrig and Spavor is the only answer," Pardy wrote in the opinion piece.

China told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, June 22, 2020 to stop making irresponsible remarks after he said Beijing's decision to charge two Canadians with spying was linked to his country's arrest of a Chinese tech executive. (AP Photo, File)BEIJING China told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday to stop making irresponsible remarks after he said Beijing's decision to charge two Canadians with spying was linked to his country's arrest of a Chinese tech executive. The spying charges are completely different from the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Ottawa, said Chinese authorities directly linked the cases of Kovrig and Spavor with Meng. China urges the relevant Canadian leader to earnestly respect the spirit of the rule of law, respect Chinas judicial sovereignty and stop making irresponsible remarks," Zhao said.