China accuses detained Canadians of spying

Two detained Canadians have been accused of working together to steal Chinese state secrets, with  many seeing the move as retaliation for Canada’s detention of senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December last year, reported the Wall Street Journal.

It is the first time that the cases of former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor have been linked, with the allegations being made two days after Ottawa decided to allow the extradition hearings against Meng to proceed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his government is “very concerned with the position China has taken….It is unfortunate that China continues to move forward on these arbitrary detentions. We will continue to stand up for these Canadians.”