Canada has restarted military talks with China after a break of more than eight years that began with Beijing’s jailing of two Canadians in late 2018.
The two countries held a “defence coordination dialogue” on Sept. 4, according to a statement issued the day after the meeting by China’s Ministry of National Defense.
Beijing was the only side to publicly announce this new milestone in thawing relations between Canada and China under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Mr. Carney’s government, which has faced blowback from U.S. President Donald Trump over its new “strategic partnership” with China, issued no statement to mark the event.
In response to questions from The Globe and Mail, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence confirmed Monday that the meeting took place in Ottawa last week.
“As part of ongoing working-level dialogue, Canadian and Chinese defence officials met on September 4, in support of ongoing military-to-military communications at the functional level,” said department spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown in a statement.
“This meeting is consistent with Canada’s broader defence engagement with partners across the Indo-Pacific region and is anchored in our commitment to protecting the safety of Canadians and the strategic interests of Canada. As a matter of longstanding practice, the Government of Canada does not publicize working-level meetings by officials.”
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Between 2013 and 2018, Canada conducted four “defence coordination dialogues” with China, with the last one in April, 2018.
A Canadian official said on background that fewer than 10 staff members from the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence and the department of Global Affairs attended last week’s meeting with Chinese counterparts. The military ranks in attendance ranged between major general and the rank of colonel in the army and air force, which corresponds to captain in the navy, the same official said. The Globe is not naming the official because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
In a statement posted on China’s Ministry of Defense website, Beijing said the Canadian and Chinese sides “had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of mutual interest, expressed willingness to strengthen practical exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries, and enhanced mutual understanding and trust.”
Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a foreign policy think tank, said the federal government owes Canadians a clear explanation as to why it is reopening this defence communication channel, noting that China has grown increasingly assertive in Asia since 2018.
In recent years, China’s armed forces have become far more assertive in contested zones throughout the Indo-Pacific, engaging in close encounters with foreign planes, sending maritime law enforcement ships to confront Philippine resupply craft in the South China Sea, and increasing pressure on Taiwan through frequent military manoeuvres close to the self-governing island. In earlier times, Beijing leaned heavily on negotiation and financial influence to press its sovereignty claims, but today it frequently underpins these with deployments of naval vessels, combat aircraft and civilian-crewed flotillas.
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The Canadian official, speaking of the Sept. 4 meeting with China, played down the event, calling it a routine dialogue to exchange views on regional and global security matters, and to communicate respective priorities and concerns.
The official did not disclose the content of discussions, but China has vociferously complained about Canada sending warships through the Taiwan Strait separating the People’s Republic of China from the island Beijing considers a breakaway province. Canadian warships often traverse the Taiwan Strait with the United States and other Western countries, effectively challenging Beijing’s claims to what the West regards as an international waterway. The U.S. calls its transits “freedom of navigation” operations.
In late 2023, then-Canadian defence minister Bill Blair accused Beijing of unprofessional and unsafe conduct after a Chinese warplane fired flares in front of a Canadian helicopter flying over international waters in the South China Sea.
Ms. Nadjibulla said Canadians should hear about rekindled defence ties from Ottawa rather than having to rely on Beijing’s announcement.
“A lot has changed since Canada last conducted such dialogue with China in 2018,” she said. China’s increasingly aggressive conduct in the South China Sea and around Taiwan “remains a serious concern for Canada and its Indo-Pacific and European partners,” Ms. Nadjibulla noted.
Ottawa must explain if this channel is for risk management and crisis communication or whether it’s an expansion of the new strategic partnership Mr. Carney struck with China in January, she said.
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In his statement, Mr. Drescher Brown said: “As the Prime Minister has consistently said, Canada’s renewed engagement with China will be guided by a series of guardrails. Under this framework, there are specific areas in which we will seek deeper cooperation with China and areas where we will not, which includes on defence.”
Diplomatic relations between Canada and China plunged into a deep freeze in late 2018 after Beijing jailed two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, after Ottawa arrested a Chinese tech executive on an extradition request from the United States. One cabinet minister at the time called China’s conduct “hostage diplomacy.” Seeking new markets for Canadian goods after U.S. President Donald Trump began imposing protectionist tariffs on Canada in 2025, Mr. Carney in early 2026 sought to rekindle ties with China.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a member of the advisory board of the China Strategic Risks Institute, a think tank, said she’s concerned about any deepening defence co-operation with China, a country she noted Mr. Carney in 2025 described as the top geopolitical threat.
“What does this lead to? What are the guardrails? What subjects such as the Arctic are off limits?” she said. “The Chinese have very long-term plans.”
Retired general Wayne Eyre, formerly the chief of the defence staff, said the dialogue appears to be focused on communication, not co-operation, adding it’s important to sustain lines of communication with other countries, including rivals.
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“Throughout history, maintaining communication with an adversary has been useful to deepen understanding and avoid unintended escalation,” he said. “Historical examples abound: Cold War hotline, Pakistan-India hotline, and US-Russia hotline during the Syrian conflict.” Mr. Eyre said even during his time in Korea “we had a line to the North Koreans.”
He said Canada should have a standing communication channel with China. “Meetings like this are normally conducted at the working level and with China they are infrequent and highly scripted. What is needed is a dedicated higher-level direct channel of communication to rapidly deal with unintended incidents to avoid escalation.”
A senior U.S. military official also met with a Chinese counterpart in Victoria last week.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, met with General Yang Zhibin, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, during the 28th Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference that took place Aug. 31 to Sept. 2.
During the conference, General Jennie Carignan, chief of defence staff for Canada, told The Globe: “There is a clear demand from the government to recalibrate and realign our relationship with China.”