A 78-year-old US citizen was sentenced on Monday by a Chinese court to life imprisonment for spying.

Reuters news agency reported that John Shing-wan Leung was a permanent resident of Hong Kong and also a United States passport holder.

According to the Associated Press, Leung was detained on April 15, 2021 by the counterintelligence agency in the southeastern city of Suzhou.

News of his sentencing came by way of the WeChat account of an Intermediate People's Court in Suzhou on Monday.

'Guilty of espionage'

The court said in a statement that Leung "was found guilty of espionage, sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life."

While the court announced Leung's sentence, no further details were given relating to what he had been charged with.

Relations between Washington and Beijing are frayed with disputes over trade, technology, human rights and China's approach towards territorial claims.