The trial of two Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China since December 2018, soon after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States, is to start in China on March 19. Court hearings are to be held on March 19 and 23. While China has revealed few details of the charges against the two Canadian citizens, the Global Times (March 18) said Kovrig was 'accused of having used an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig'. Bloomberg quoted former Canadian Ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques as saying over the telephone "It’s a very important and worrisome development because that means that, once the trial has started, it will become very difficult to extricate them from China."