John Shing-Wan Leung, a 78-year-old American citizen and a permanent resident of Hong Kong, has been handed a life sentence by a Chinese court on charges of espionage, intensifying the already strained relations between Washington and Beijing. The Suzhou court in Jiangsu province also confiscated personal assets worth $70,000, according to a statement on the court's social media account.

Leung was arrested by the Suzhou state security authorities on April 15, 2021. However, the Chinese government and state-run media have kept silent about the proceedings, which are customarily conducted behind closed doors for security-related cases.

The sentencing of Leung comes at a time when the US-China relationship is under severe stress, marred by disputes over trade, technology, human rights, and military dominance. The sentencing has also overlapped with the resumption of high-level dialogues between the two nations, which had been hindered earlier this year due to a controversy over an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon.

Leung's case is a part of a broader pattern under Xi Jinping's regime, which has seen an increased crackdown on espionage involving foreign nationals. Earlier this year, a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma was detained in Beijing on suspicion of espionage, making him the seventeenth Japanese national arrested since the introduction of the anti-espionage law in 2014.

Two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor, also spent almost three years in Chinese custody in another high-profile case. These investigations are typically shrouded in secrecy, with only ambiguous charges of endangering state security becoming public knowledge.

The current geopolitical climate is further complicated by the fact that President Joseph Biden is due to attend the Group of Seven summits in Hiroshima, Japan, followed by a visit to Papua New Guinea. This trip comes amid China's efforts to extend its influence in the Pacific island nation, prompting the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies to increase their regional presence with investments and financial aid.

The legal proceedings in China, governed by an authoritarian political system and the Chinese Communist Party's total control, often stifle requests for additional information and appeals. Earlier this year, US-China relations took another hit when a Chinese court upheld the death sentence of an American citizen, Mark Swidan, a Texas businessman detained since 2012 on drug-related charges.

Despite the increasingly tense relations between the United States and China, the Suzhou court did not suggest any linkage to the geopolitical scenario in its verdict. However, in most countries, espionage charges are typically selective, and supporting evidence remains confidential to protect intelligence networks and sources.