Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize human rights on his trip to China from January 13 to 17. Carney’s trip to China is significant because it is the first visit by a Canadian prime minister in more than eight years.
Canada-China relations have been strained in recent years as Chinese President Xi Jinping has intensified repression both inside China and abroad. Between 2018 and 2021, the Chinese government unlawfully detained two Canadians as hostages to pressure the Canadian government to free an executive of the Chinese tech giant Huawei.
The Canadian government’s official Statement announcing the visit said that it is part of Canada’s efforts to build economic resilience and to diversify from the United States, “to elevate engagement on trade, energy, agriculture, and international security.” Deputy Asia director at HRW Maya Wang stated, “Prime Minister Carney should recognize that the Chinese government’s deepening repression threatens not just the rights of people in China but, increasingly, Canada’s core interests and values.”
The Chinese government’s rights violations have a direct impact on many issues of national interest to Canada, according to HRW. Reports show some firms linked to forced labor in Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim Uyghur region, ship products to Canada. Canadian law prohibits importing products produced wholly or in part by forced labor. There is extensive and consistent documentation of Chinese state-imposed forced labor involving ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities in China’s supply chains. The UN, HRW, and other organizations have for several years reported on crimes against humanity by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang.