China's top court has overturned a Canadian man's death sentence on drug charges, his lawyer said on Monday, marking a breakthrough in a case that has strained diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing for years, Report informs via Reuters.

Robert Schellenberg was arrested in China in 2014 for suspected drug smuggling and convicted in 2018, initially receiving a 15-year prison sentence. He was subsequently condemned to death in a January 2019 retrial - one month after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on a United States warrant.

China's Supreme People's Court on Friday ruled against a death sentence passed by the lower court, Beijing-based lawyer Zhang Dongshuo told Reuters. The case will be sent to Liaoning Provincial High People's Court for retrial, he said.

The breakthrough came less than a month after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a four-day visit to China, where he hailed both countries' improving ties after they had soured under Canada's previous leader Justin Trudeau.

A spokesperson for Canada's foreign ministry told Reuters they were aware of the Supreme Court's decision and would continue providing consular services to Schellenberg and his family, without elaborating on the decision.

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