<p class="title">A Canadian citizen detained in China is being held on drug-related offences, Beijing said on Monday, at a time of tense relations between the two countries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">News of the latest arrest comes amid a diplomatic crisis sparked by the detention of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer for Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver on a US extradition bid.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The Shandong Provincial Public Security Bureau recently seized a drug-related case involving foreign students," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"One of the people involved in the case is a Canadian citizen."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Geng said the case was under investigation and the relevant embassies had been notified.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Canada said Sunday that one of its citizens was being detained in the city of Yantai in the eastern province of Shandong, and that consular assistance was being given.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A source familiar with the latest detention told AFP there was no indication that the case was related to the arrests of Canadians Michael Kovrig, an ex-diplomat, and consultant Michael Spavor, who face espionage-linked accusations.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The pair was detained days after Meng's arrest in December -- sparking questions over whether the allegations were in retaliation. Ottawa has called their arrests "arbitrary".</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the diplomatic row escalated, Beijing sentenced two other Canadians to death for drug trafficking and blocked imports of Canadian agricultural products worth billions of dollars.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Geng said Monday that the latest case had no link with a separate drug bust last week centred on the local branch of a language school in Jiangsu province, involving seven foreign teachers and nine foreign students.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Strict drugs laws in China mean convictions can attract long prison sentences or even the death penalty.</p>
<p class="title">A Canadian citizen detained in China is being held on drug-related offences, Beijing said on Monday, at a time of tense relations between the two countries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">News of the latest arrest comes amid a diplomatic crisis sparked by the detention of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer for Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver on a US extradition bid.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The Shandong Provincial Public Security Bureau recently seized a drug-related case involving foreign students," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"One of the people involved in the case is a Canadian citizen."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Geng said the case was under investigation and the relevant embassies had been notified.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Canada said Sunday that one of its citizens was being detained in the city of Yantai in the eastern province of Shandong, and that consular assistance was being given.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A source familiar with the latest detention told AFP there was no indication that the case was related to the arrests of Canadians Michael Kovrig, an ex-diplomat, and consultant Michael Spavor, who face espionage-linked accusations.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The pair was detained days after Meng's arrest in December -- sparking questions over whether the allegations were in retaliation. Ottawa has called their arrests "arbitrary".</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the diplomatic row escalated, Beijing sentenced two other Canadians to death for drug trafficking and blocked imports of Canadian agricultural products worth billions of dollars.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Geng said Monday that the latest case had no link with a separate drug bust last week centred on the local branch of a language school in Jiangsu province, involving seven foreign teachers and nine foreign students.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Strict drugs laws in China mean convictions can attract long prison sentences or even the death penalty.</p>