China overturns death sentence of Canadian in sign of diplomatic thaw

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before Canada-China ties nosedived in 2018

China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as prime minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.

Schellenberg’s lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced on Friday by China’s highest court.

Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China-Canada ties nosedived after 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 north-east 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.

Schellenberg, who has been held in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian since 2014, would be retried by the Liaoning high people’s court, Zhang said. The timing for the retrial had not yet been set.

Zhang said he met with Schellenberg in Dalian on Friday and that 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,” Canadian foreign ministry spokesperson Thida Ith said in a statement.

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.”

Key sectors of the Canadian economy have been hammered by US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, and Carney has said Canada can no longer count on the US 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 leader 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.

Zhang said Carney’s visit raised his hopes that the Chinese court would announce a relatively positive outcome for his client.

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

Spavor and Kovrig were released the same month.