U.S. "deeply concerned" as China tries Canadians in secret in case seen as Huawei retaliation

Beijing — The trial of Michael Kovrig, the Canadian detained for more than two years in China on espionage charges, started on Monday, with relations between Ottawa and Beijing in freefall. The hearing comes days after the closed-door trial of another Canadian man, with both detained in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest on a U.S. extradition warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Kovrig, a former diplomat, was detained in 2018 and formally charged last June with spying at the same time as his compatriot, businessman Michael Spavor. On Monday, police cordoned off an area outside the Beijing court as Canadian diplomats were denied entry and turned away. A court official told reporters no entry was allowed because the trial is a national security case.