China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on Canada not to interfere in China's judicial sovereignty following its protests over two crime cases involving two of its citizens. 

In a public statement, the ministry's spokesperson Hua Chunying said Canada's move has seriously violated the spirit of the rule of law and China condemns such act.

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A Chinese court on Tuesday upheld a death sentence against Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian national convicted of smuggling 222.035 kilograms of methamphetamine in China in 2018. Another Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced Canadian national Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison and deportation for spying on state secrets and illegally providing them to overseas forces. 

Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau called Schellenberg's verdict a "cruel and inhumane punishment" and arbitrary sentence in a statement, and described the handling of Spavor's case as "arbitrary detention" in a separate statement. The European Union and Britain voiced their support for Canada. 

Hua said the Chinese courts made the rulings in accordance with law after ascertaining facts related to the crimes committed by the two Canadians, adding that their legitimate rights and interests have been protected. 

China is a country under the rule of law, and no matter what the nationality of a criminal offender is, he or she is treated equally by judiciary authorities in accordance with law, she said, stressing that foreign identity cannot be used as a shield to escape punishment. 

Hua criticized Canada for its double standard on the principle that everyone is equal before the law and its attempt to politicize legal issues.