OTTAWA — When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prevailed in Canada’s election last year, he promised “sunny ways” and later pledged to hold his cabinet ministers to high ethical standards when it came to conflicts of interest and fund-raising.

Now, after being the chief attraction at a fund-raiser attended by wealthy businessmen, Mr. Trudeau himself is facing criticism from some who say he is not following his own rules.

On Tuesday, The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, reported that Mr. Trudeau spoke in May at a political fund-raiser held in the Toronto house of the president of the Chinese Business Chamber of Commerce. Most of the 32 guests paid 1,500 Canadian dollars, or about $1,100, to attend.

Among the nonpaying guests was Zhang Bin, president of the Beijing-based China Cultural Industry Association, a promotional agency under the control of China’s minister of culture. Not long afterward, Mr. Zhang and his group’s honorary president made a joint donation of 1 million Canadian dollars, or about $741,200, to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which includes Justin Trudeau’s brother among its board members, and the University of Montreal law faculty. The donation included funds for a statue of Pierre Trudeau, the former prime minister and Justin’s father, at the law school.