Pro-China Networks Amplified Carney’s Beijing Messaging to Attack U.S. Policy, Echoing a 2025 Election Pattern, Analyst Finds
OTTAWA — A social network analysis firm says Chinese state and pro-China accounts amplified Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statements across major Western platforms during his Jan. 14–17 trip to Beijing—praising Canada while using his remarks to criticize U.S. policy toward China—in geopolitical messaging that, Graphika’s data suggest, mirrors a pattern observed prior to the 2025 Canadian general election, when pro-China actors promoted Carney’s stance on U.S. tariffs to advance narratives aligned with China’s strategic goals.
It is all part of a familiar Beijing playbook that frames Washington as an “irresponsible and unpredictable international actor,” New York–based firm Graphika writes in a brief published Friday, concluding: “On Western platforms, Chinese state and pro-China actors amplified statements from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to criticize U.S. foreign policy positions on China.”
In this case, the firm says, those actors “capitalized on improved relations between China and Canada, a historically close U.S. ally,” to advance that message—casting the United States as coercive and destabilizing while elevating Beijing’s preferred framing of “win-win” partnership.
Responding to questions from The Bureau, analyst Lili Turner explained the new intelligence insight from Graphika demonstrates that pro-China actors online are “not so much ‘taking a side’ as they are leveraging Carney’s visit and improved Canada-China ties as an opportunity to criticize the United States.”
“This behavior is similar to what Graphika observed prior to the 2025 Canadian general election, during which pro-China actors promoted Carney’s stance on U.S. tariffs to spread anti-U.S. narratives that align with China’s strategic goals,” Turner added. “During the election campaign, pro-China actors also exploited domestic concerns around the issue of immigration to stoke tensions.”
In a similar probe last May, Graphika said it uncovered an operation involving more than 1,000 fake accounts working to shape online discourse around the United States–China trade war in Beijing’s favor.
The new report on Carney’s Beijing mission describes a wave of activity led by Chinese state media outlets and amplified by diplomatic accounts and pro-China personas on X, Facebook, and YouTube.
State media, Graphika says, posted videos and text “positively portraying Carney’s Jan. 14–17 visit to China,” with a heavy focus on agreements Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached to reduce tariffs on electric vehicles. In doing so, the outlets “quoted Carney directly or used clips of him discussing the outcomes of his visit.”
Chinese embassy accounts then pushed additional framing that linked improved ties with Beijing to Canada’s economic positioning vis-à-vis Washington.
Graphika reports that the Chinese Embassy in Canada posted footage on X from an interview with a Canadian economist arguing that improved ties with China may offset Canada’s “heavy dependence on the U.S. market.” Other Chinese embassies posted clips of Carney describing the China–Canada relationship as “more predictable” lately and praising a “new strategic partnership,” while the Chinese Embassy in the United States praised the partnership in a Facebook post.
Pro-China commentators and online personas amplified the same themes more bluntly, Graphika says—celebrating improved ties and using them to criticize the United States.
The brief highlights one example: prominent Chinese journalist Li Jingjing claimed on X that while the United States threatens Canada, “China treats Canada with respect and win-win cooperation,” a post Graphika says reached 224,000 views. Graphika adds that Li and other pro-China X accounts posted and reposted content criticizing the United States while celebrating recently improved China–Canada relations.
Graphika’s topline behavioral signal is that Carney’s visit appeared to become an organizing narrative in pro-China audience spaces during the trip.
“Canada-focused discussion among pro-China audience spaces peaked on Jan. 16, one day before Carney’s visit to China concluded,” the report states. “Meanwhile, mentions of Venezuela and Greenland faltered around Jan. 16,” which Graphika says indicates the visit “was important enough to distract from the aforementioned topics.”
The brief does not allege coordination by Carney or his government with the accounts driving the amplification, and it does not claim the activity was confined to a single platform. Instead, Graphika emphasizes a cross-platform pattern—state media posts, embassy amplification, and influencer-style commentary—that praises Canada as a constructive partner while casting Washington as coercive or destabilizing.
Turner said that looking outside of Canada, Graphika analysts have also recently observed an increase in anti-U.S. messaging from Chinese and pro-China online actors tied to American activities regarding Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran, capitalizing on discontent within the international community.
“These online actors frequently jump at the chance to glom onto moments of intense criticism of the U.S., and in turn portray China as a measured, benevolent international actor,” she said.
Carney is orders of magnitude more dangerous for Canada than PM “Selfie” Trudeau ever was.
I don’t know how much China thinks their influence has impact. Most free thinking people easily see through Beijing’s strategies. Their actions are what most people expect from China. Because Carney is primarily a WEF proponent this suits his agenda, plus he is no doubt benefiting financially.
I personally believe that the Liberal government in Canada has clung on to power through manipulation and dirty tricks, with more than a little help from the Chinese government. Mark Carney is dangerous to Canada, his allegiance is to Davos and Brookfield, not to Canada. I hope that backing China is the rock that he perishes on. It’s difficult to comprehend a man who would treat his own country with such disdain yet we see the same happening in the UK with Starmer and in other Western nations.
China can send out its flood of propaganda and support Western traitors but people everywhere see through the lies and corruption. In the end they will not succeed because good overcomes evil.