China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.
Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo (張東碩), yesterday confirmed China’s Supreme People’s Court struck down the sentence.
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 (孟晚舟).
Photo: Intermediate People’s Court of Dalian via Reuters
That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory.
In January 2019, a court in northeast China retried Schellenberg, sentencing him to death after saying his 15-year prison term for drug trafficking had been too lenient.
He had been a central player in a scheme to ship narcotics to Australia, the court said.
Schellenberg has denied wrongdoing.
He is to be retried by the Liaoning High People’s Court, his lawyer Zhang said, the timing for which has not yet been set.
Zhang said he met with Schellenberg on Friday, and the Canadian appeared relatively relaxed.
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 US.
“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 Schellenberg’s case,” GAC spokesperson Thida Ith said, adding that they would “continue to provide consular services to Mr. Schellenberg and to his family.”
“Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty,” Ith said.
Key sectors of the Canadian economy have been hammered by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and Carney has said Ottawa could no longer count on Washington as a reliable trading partner.
Despite ongoing tensions, including allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections, Ottawa needs a functioning relationship with Beijing to safeguard its economic future, he said.
Carney last month met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and heralded an improved era in relations — saying the two countries had struck a “new strategic partnership” and a preliminary trade deal.
GAC did not comment on whether diplomacy during Carney’s visit impacted the Chinese court decision.
Zhang said Carney’s visit raised his hopes that the Chinese court would announce a relatively positive outcome for his client.
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