SHANGHAI -- A Chinese court on Wednesday sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage in a highly controversial case that has soured bilateral relations.

The Dandong intermediate people's court said in a statement posted its website that it also fined Spavor 50,000 yuan ($7,715), ordered the confiscation of personal property, and deportation. It is not clear whether he will be deported before the end of his imprisonment.

Spavor, who worked and lived in China, has been detained along with fellow countryman Michael Kovrig since December 2018. The case is widely seen as retaliation by Beijing against the detention of Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou months earlier in Canada. Extradition hearings for Meng are in their final few weeks ahead of a ruling on whether she will be sent to the U.S.

Wednesday's ruling by the court in Dandong, a coastal city near the border with North Korea, found Spavor guilty of "illegally providing state secrets."

The sentence came a day after another Canadian Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to death by another Chinese court for drug smuggling. Canada's Foreign Minister Marc Garneau condemned the decision, calling it a "cruel and inhumane punishment" and vowed to engage with Beijing for clemency.

Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, said he interpreted the sentence to mean Spavor will be deported after serving his prison term, according to Reuters. Barton added that Canada is disappointed with the length of the sentence.