Human Rights Wasn’t ‘Proactively’ Raised During Carney’s China Visit: Privy Council

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 15, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

During Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China in January, the issue of human rights wasn’t “proactively” raised during discussions with Chinese officials, according to the Privy Council Office (PCO).

“Topics of human rights and foreign interference were not brought up proactively by the Canadian Prime Minister,” says a document tabled in the House of Commons on March 13 by the PCO, which is sometimes referred to as the prime minister’s department.