BEIJING (Reuters): China’s top court has overturned a Canadian man’s death sentence on drug charges, his lawyer said on Monday, marking a breakthrough in a case that has strained diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing for years.
Robert Schellenberg was arrested in China in 2014 for suspected drug smuggling and convicted in 2018, initially receiving a 15-year prison sentence. He was subsequently condemned to death in a January 2019 retrial – one month after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on a U.S. warrant.
China’s Supreme People’s Court on Friday ruled against a death sentence passed by the lower court, Beijing-based lawyer Zhang Dongshuo told Reuters. The case will be sent to Liaoning Provincial High People’s Court for retrial, he said.
The breakthrough came less than a month after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a four-day visit to China, where he hailed both countries’ improving ties after they had soured under Canada’s previous leader Justin Trudeau.
A spokesperson for Canada’s foreign ministry told Reuters they were aware of the Supreme Court’s decision and would continue providing consular services to Schellenberg and his family, without elaborating on the decision.
“Judging from both countries’ official remarks after the Canadian prime minister visited China, the likelihood of the Supreme Court’s decision (being related) is very high, according to my experience,” said Zhang.
However, he added that the possibility of Schellenberg being eventually acquitted was not high, given the severity of the original sentence.
“Chinese judicial organs independently heard the relevant case and issued a judgement in accordance with the law,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a briefing on Monday when asked about Schellenberg’s case.
Four Canadian citizens were executed by China last year on drug smuggling charges, Canada said at the time.
Schellenberg’s death sentence had been upheld by the Liaoning court in 2021 after an appeal hearing, drawing condemnation from Ottawa at the time.
China had detained two Canadians on spying accusations shortly after Meng was detained, prompting international accusations of hostage diplomacy. They were released in 2021 on the same day the U.S. dropped its extradition request for Meng and she returned to China.
Diplomatic ties were further strained after Canada’s government imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, following similar U.S. curbs.
China retaliated last March with tariffs on more than $2.6 billion of Canadian farm and food products, such as canola oil and meal, followed by tariffs on canola seed in August.
After Carney’s visit, both countries agreed to slash tariffs on EVs and canola in a major reversal of previous policy.
Analysts say the rapprochement between Canada and China could reshape the political and economic context in which Sino-U.S. rivalry unfolds, although Ottawa is not expected to dramatically pivot away from Washington.
