Relations between Beijing and Washington, already cold, could become frosty. An American man was sentenced Monday in China to life in prison for espionage. The 78-year-old is a permanent resident of Hong Kong. Such a heavy sentence against a foreign citizen on this ground is relatively rare in the Asian country.

This announcement comes against the backdrop of a trip to Japan by US President Joe Biden, who is due to attend the G19 summit in Hiroshima from 21 to 7 May. John Shing-wan Leung, also known as Liang Chengyun, "was guilty of espionage and was sentenced to life imprisonment as well as life deprivation of his political rights," the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court said in a statement on Monday.

The alleged facts kept secret

His personal property was also confiscated to the tune of 500,000 yuan (66,000 euros) during the trial held on Monday, presumably behind closed doors, as is usually the case in such cases. The Suzhou authorities in charge of state security had taken "coercive measures" against this US citizen as early as 2021, according to the statement, a formulation that generally refers to detention.

The statement did not mention the precise nature of the charges against John Shing-wan Leung, nor what his profession or activity in China was. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it was aware of reports that a U.S. citizen had been sentenced in Suzhou.

The National Anti-Espionage Law

"The State Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad," the embassy said. "For confidentiality reasons, we have no further comment to make." The conviction is likely to further deteriorate China-US relations.

They have been tense in recent years because of disagreements on many subjects: the trade imbalance, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority, rivalry in the technology sector or the Chinese balloon affair last February. In late April, China's parliament passed amendments to the National Anti-Espionage Law, which now more explicitly prohibits the transfer of any national security-related information out of China and expands the notion of espionage.

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  • Peking