Travel Warning to China

Yesterday Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to death in his appeal

This morning the Canadian Consulate in Beijing issued a warning to Canadians in China, saying it had revised its Travel Advice and Advisory for the country.

It says: "Exercise a high degree of caution in China due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws", without mentioning by name the recent case of Robert Schellenberg, 36, who was sentenced to death for trafficking methamphetamine from China to Australia.

Foreign media in China say the Chinese government took great lengths to allow foreign reporters to cover the verdict, meaning it was keen on giving the impression that it follows rule of law. Meanwhile, Chinese state media earlier insinuated his case is directly linked with Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, warning Canada would suffer severe consequences if she was not released her back to China.

Meng Wanzhou is under house arrest in Vancouver

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-run Global Times uploaded a video in which he warned that, "if Canada extradites Meng to the United States, China's revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian."

Hours after the Canadian travel advisory was issued, China put out a travel warning to its citizens about going to Canada.

A notice by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Chinese citizens should be aware of the risks of being "arbitrarily detained at the request of a third nation" in Canada, and urged caution when making travel plans."

Tensions are certainly escalating between China and Canada. Both have sufficient cause to want to resolve the situation, though China definitely ratcheted things up several notches yesterday when it sentenced Schellenberg to death.

And it is still detaining two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor.

On top of that China is now warning its citizens about traveling to Canada...

Which side should be more worried?