A 78-year-old American, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was sentenced in China to life imprisonment for “espionage”, a local court announced on Monday, reports AFP.

Such a harsh sentence for a foreigner for such a reason is relatively rare in this Asian country. This risks further worsening Sino-American relations, which are already at an all-time low.

John Shing-wan Leung, also known as Liang Chengyun, “was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as lifelong deprivation of his political rights,” the People’s Court said in a statement. Middleman from eastern Suzhou China.

His personal assets worth 500,000 yuan (€66,000) were also seized in this first-instance trial, which apparently took place behind closed doors, as is usually the case in such cases.

The statement did not specify the exact nature of the acts of which John Shing-wan Leung is accused. The profession and activities of this American citizen in China are not yet clear.

The announcement comes amid US President Joe Biden’s trip to Japan this week to attend the G7 summit held in Hiroshima from May 19 to 21.

In recent years, Sino-American relations have cooled again due to differences on many topics: trade imbalance, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing’s attitude towards the Uyghur minority or rivalry in the high-tech sector.