Governor Pataki yesterday pronounced his weeklong trade mission to China “enormously successful,” while emphasizing that he repeatedly raised human rights concerns during his talks with government officials and business leaders in the communist nation.

“This is an extraordinarily important mission that I’ve taken on behalf of the people of New York and the businesses of New York,” the governor said from Shanghai during an unusual videoconference with reporters at the state capitol in Albany. “It’s going to help New York companies that have come with us to access markets in China that will give them the potential to grow and add jobs in New York – and add profits here in China.”

Mr. Pataki, who traveled with executives from about a dozen New York companies, promised to open a permanent trade office in China to help Empire State businesses benefit from the Asian country’s booming economy. The governor said he was dazzled by the economic activity he observed as he toured the Chinese cities of Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. “The explosive growth of the Chinese economy is real,” he said.

Asked to cite specific business deals reached during the trip, Mr. Pataki said only that companies had promising leads they planned to pursue.

The governor did say he was “optimistic” that discussions with a Chinese real estate developer, Vantone Enterprise Group, would lead to the creation of a “China Center” in Lower Manhattan. The facility, which would occupy hundreds of thousands of feet of office space, would provide a centralized location for Chinese companies doing business in America, Mr. Pataki said.

Before the governor left for Asia, aides said publicly that they expected the trip to be solely trade-focused and that Mr. Pataki did not intend to raise concerns about China’s human rights record. The statement drew the ire of human rights advocates, who argued that Americans visiting China have a duty to discuss such issues.

As the governor spoke with reporters yesterday, he insisted that he shares that view. “I felt compelled, and believe it was important, to raise the issue of human rights,” Mr. Pataki said. “As Americans, we will always be concerned about people’s personal rights and individual freedom and continue to urge the government to allow more of that.”

The State Department has described China’s human rights record as “poor” and marked by “serious abuses,” including heavy regulation of religion and a ban on political activity that could challenge the Communist Party’s grip on power.

Asked precisely when and where he brought up human rights, Mr. Pataki said the issue arose at several meetings, but he “really stressed” it at talks held Tuesday with China’s vice minister for foreign affairs, Yang Jiechi.

Mr. Pataki also confirmed that the issue of Taiwan surfaced during his meetings with Chinese leaders. “I just expressed my support for our country’s position, which is one China. We have always had as a national policy the fact that Taiwan is a part of China, opposition to any effort to secede or declare independence,” the governor said.

However, Mr. Pataki said he emphasized that the mainland should not attempt to use force to take control of Taiwan. “Any efforts to create a closer relationship between Taiwan and the government of China have to be done in a nonconfrontational, nonviolent, consensual way,” he said.

The governor also told journalists that Taiwan enjoys “very real political freedom.” He did not say if he shared that observation with the Chinese officials he met. Mr. Pataki brushed aside questions about whether the trip was intended to burnish his limited foreign policy credentials in advance of a possible bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. “I think it is the right thing to do for New York,” he said.

The executive director of a New York-based group, Human Rights in China, lauded Mr. Pataki for incorporating a dialogue about freedom and liberty into his trade trip. “We’re pleased that as a government official, even though it was not part of his agenda items to raise, that he on the ground sought opportunities to raise it,” Sharon Hom said.

Human rights advocates had also urged the governor to inquire about specific Chinese dissidents and other prisoners held in Chinese jails. “To say that human rights are important is stating the obvious,” Ms. Hom said. “Human rights are about humans and that means individuals. I think absolutely Pataki should have tried to raise these cases.”