Canada and China Resume Defense Dialogue After Eight-Year Break

Canada and China have resumed a formal military dialogue for the first time in more than eight years, reopening a channel that had been dormant since relations between Ottawa and Beijing sharply deteriorated.

China’s Ministry of National Defense said the fifth China-Canada Defense Coordination Dialogue was held in Canada on Sept. 4. Beijing said the two sides held a “candid and in-depth exchange of views” on international and regional issues and expressed support for further military exchanges and cooperation.

The brief Chinese Defense Ministry announcement did not identify the Canadian participants or provide details about the agenda. The meeting was disclosed publicly by Beijing, while the Canadian government had not issued a comparable statement as of Sept. 7.

Military talks return after years of tension

Canada and China established the defense dialogue in 2013, and previous rounds were held in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, according to Canadian National Defence records.

Military ties declined sharply after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December 2018 on a U.S. extradition request. China detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor days later, beginning a diplomatic crisis that lasted nearly three years.

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National Defence said in 2021 that the last bilateral military training between Canada and China occurred in 2018 and that no further bilateral training was planned.

The newly revived dialogue does not mean military exercises have resumed. Beijing’s announcement referred only to talks and possible future exchanges.

Among the senior Chinese officials visiting Canada was Gen. Yang Zhibin, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for operations in the area facing Taiwan.

Yang also met U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo during a defense conference in Victoria. According to a U.S. Pacific Command statement, the two discussed maintaining communication to reduce the risk of miscalculation between their militaries.

The Eastern Theater Command has overseen major Chinese military exercises around Taiwan. U.S. officials have said Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants the PLA capable of taking Taiwan by force if ordered to do so by 2027, although U.S. intelligence has stressed that Beijing does not appear to have a fixed timetable for an invasion.

Talks come as Canada reassesses foreign ties

The resumption comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government seeks to diversify Canada’s international relationships amid a worsening trade dispute with the United States.

Carney has nevertheless previously identified China as Canada’s leading security concern. During the April 2025 federal election debate, he said: “The biggest security threat to Canada is China.”

Ottawa has gradually restored senior-level contact with Beijing while continuing to raise concerns about Chinese foreign interference, human rights and military activity in the Indo-Pacific.

The lack of a Canadian announcement about the Sept. 4 defense talks has also raised questions about transparency.

Canadian investigative outlet The Bureau noted that military communication with a potential adversary can help reduce the risk of conflict, but questioned why Canadians first learned of the renewed dialogue through Beijing and what limits or oversight will apply to future exchanges.