China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two detained Canadian citizens, namely Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, have been formally arrested by Chinese authorities.
Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang confirmed the arrests at Thursday's daily briefing, saying the arrests were approved by law and were made "recently."
According to Lu, Michael Kovrig was arrested on charges of gathering state secrets and Michael Spavor on charges of stealing secrets and illegally providing them to overseas forces.
Lu noted that their legitimate rights, including having lawyers, will be fully protected, and China hopes that Canada stop making irresponsible remarks on the case.
