OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada said on Wednesday that China had executed four Canadian citizens on drugs smuggling charges earlier this year, and strongly condemned Beijing's use of the death penalty.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters that all four had been dual citizens and said Ottawa would ask for leniency for other Canadians facing the same fate.

"There are four Canadians that have been executed and therefore we are strongly condemning what happened," she said, adding that all four had been convicted on drugs charges.

Separately, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said that Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian man sentenced to death in 2019 for drug smuggling, had not been executed.

Canada-China ties have been icy since 2018 when Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, was detained in Vancouver at Washington's request. China arrested two Canadians shortly afterwards.

Meng and the Canadian duo were released in 2021.

Earlier this month Beijing announced tariffs on more than $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products, retaliating against levies Ottawa slapped on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products last year.

Combating drug-related offences is a shared responsibility of all countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday, urging Canada to "respect the spirit of the rule of law and stop interfering in China's judicial sovereignty".

Mao added that China treats those accused equally regardless of nationalities, handles their cases fairly and strictly, while safeguarding their rights.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said Canada was making irresponsible remarks.

"China always imposed severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a 'zero tolerance' attitude towards the drug problem," it said, without confirming that any executions had taken place.