China Relations
The big issue in Canada post APEC summit has been the state of Canada's relations with China and how the Conservatives are approaching the issue. There isn't much consensus on the issue. Many individuals have competing assessments of what needs to be done to best pursue Canada's goals. Some are pro-trade, others claim human rights trump trade, others argue that the two are not mutually exclusive.
Harper said he will not "sell out" Canadian values for trade dollars. No one is really sure what he meant by this. He followed up with a bunch of buzz words including human rights, and democracy without really defining what he meant.
First off, Harper and his handlers should look at the China question from a longer perspective than they seem to be taking. China has been on a road of improving human rights for about thirty years now. Since the end of the cultural revolution the situation has improved drastically, and it continues to do so in slow increments. There are certainly still issues in China, and they need to be dealt with. But the best way to deal with them is not blowing the human rights horn at a summit intended to discuss economic issues.
Harper has clearly been playing to voters in Canada. He hopes to attract voters who may vote liberal, but feel 'human rights' are an important issue. The problem with this tack is that by playing for the Canadian voters he has compromised Canada's efficacy in China. The Chinese see Harper's treatment as condescending. We have less influence than Harper would like to think. The way to effect change with the Chinese is to treat them with the respect they deserve, foster ties and thus influence, and address issues when and where it is appropriate to address them.