Canadian citizen has been detained in China, Global Affairs confirms

Global Affairs Canada says a Canadian citizen has been detained in Yantai, China.

The department says officials have provided consular services to the person in custody.

It said in an email statement on Friday that it could not release any other details about the Canadian's detention because of provisions of the Privacy Act.

Global Affairs would not comment on whether the detention is related to the detention by Chinese police of seven foreign teachers and nine foreign students on drug allegations in eastern China.

Xuzhou city police told The Associated Press three Chinese people were also detained in the alleged drug arrests.

Xuzhou is about 600 kilometres from Yantai, where the Canadian was detained.

The British embassy said Friday it is providing consular assistance to four British citizens who were among those arrested.

Police said one foreigner in the drug allegations case was criminally detained and the other suspects were held in administrative detention.

Police did not say where the teachers worked, but the Education First language school expressed regret for a drug-related incident and said it is co-operating with authorities.

Education First said in an email to The Canadian Press that it could not confirm the nationalities of those facing alleged drug offences.

The school said in a statement on social media that classes have not been affected at its four English-language centres in Xuzhou. Education First, a privately held Swiss firm that operates in 114 countries, pledged to improve the management and supervision of its foreign teachers to make sure they understand and obey Chinese laws.

Relations between China and Canada nosedived last December after Vancouver police detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, on a U.S. arrest warrant. Beijing is demanding her return.

After Meng's arrest, China detained two Canadians, accusing them of involvement in stealing state secrets.