Canada urged to respect rule of law, stop interfering in China's judicial sovereignty

China urged Canada on Thursday to stop interfering in its judicial sovereignty, saying that it's a shared responsibility for all countries to fight drug-related crimes.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular news conference, after reports quoted Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly as saying that China had executed four Canadian citizens earlier this year due to drug-related charges.

Mao said that China upholds the rule of law and treats all defendants equally regardless of their nationalities.

China has handled the cases impartially and in strict accordance with law, and guaranteed the lawful rights of the individuals involved in the cases, as well as the consular rights of the Canadian side, the spokeswoman said, adding that Canada should respect the spirit of the rule of law.

"Whoever violates the law of China must be held accountable in accordance with the law," CBC News quoted the Chinese embassy in Canada as saying in a statement.

"Drug-related crime is a severe crime recognized worldwide as extremely harmful to the society," the embassy said. The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadian nationals involved in the cases are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient, it added.

"We urge the Canadian side to respect the rule of law and China's judicial sovereignty, stop making irresponsible remarks, work in the same direction with China, and jointly promote the improvement and development of … relations with concrete actions," the embassy was quoted as saying.