China investigating Canadian couple as spies

China is investigating two Canadians who ran a coffee shop on the Chinese border with North Korea for suspected theft of state secrets involving military and national defense research, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Xinhua identified the two as Kevin Garratt and Julia Dawn Garratt but did not say whether they had been detained. In a brief report on Tuesday, it said the State Security Bureau of Dandong in northeastern Liaoning province was investigating the case.

China's state secrets law is notoriously broad, covering everything from industry data to capital punishment statistics. Beijing is also sensitive about its relationship with North Korea. Information in China can be labeled a state secret retroactively.

The accusations against the couple came nearly a week after Canada accused a Chinese-sponsored hacker of infiltrating Canada's National Research Council (NRC), the country's top research and development organization, which works with big firms such as aircraft and train maker Bombardier.

Canadian officials said "a highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor" broke into the NRC.

China's Foreign Ministry expressed strong displeasure over the Canadian allegation, urging Canada to withdraw the "groundless" accusation.

Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that the Vancouver couple has been living in China since 1984 and opened Peter's Coffee House in Dandong in 2008. The couple previously worked as teachers in southern China.

It said the whereabouts of the Garratts was unknown. Canada's Foreign Affairs Department said it was aware of reports that the two Canadians had been detained and was trying get more information. The department said consular officials were ready to provide assistance.

The Garratts' Western-style coffee shop has a view of traffic flowing across the Yalu River, which divides China and North Korea, The Globe and Mail said. The couple also had a side business helping vacationers plan tours to North Korea, it added.

On its website, Peter’s Coffee House calls itself the "perfect stop off while en route to or returning from the Hermit Kingdom." It offers an English Corner, inviting customers to “join us to practice your English every Friday night.” The menu includes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, quesadillas, burgers and wraps.

Al Jazeera and wire services