Beijing is retaliating in a tit-for-tat diplomatic row by expelling a Canadian envoy, following Canada’s decision to eject a Chinese diplomat Monday amid allegations of a plot to coerce a Canadian lawmaker.

A statement posted by China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in English said it strongly condemns Canada’s move and is responding with a “reciprocal” one by declaring Jennifer Lalonde, a diplomat from Canada’s consulate in Shanghai, persona non grata. She has been asked to leave China by Saturday, it said.