A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug smuggling after prosecutors said an original 15-year sentence given in November was too lenient.

Dalian Intermediate People's Court in the northeast province of Liaoning re-tried Robert Lloyd Schellenberg and decided on execution, the court said in a statement on its website.

The case will further test bilateral relations, already tense since Canada's arrest of a Chinese executive at the request of the United States in December, followed by China's detention of two Canadians on suspicion of endangering state security.

Schellenberg was told in court he has the right to appeal to Liaoning High Court within 10 days upon receiving the ruling, the court said in second statement, adding that he was involved in organised international drug crimes.

Schellenberg's lawyer Zhang Dongshuo told Reuters he will likely appeal the sentence. Schellenberg, who was to have been deported after serving his sentence, had lodged an appeal after being handed a 15-year sentence on Nov. 20 in Dalian.