Canadian and Chinese officials met in Ottawa for a defence co-ordination dialogue on September 4, reviving a mechanism dormant for eight years.
Beijing stated that the two sides discussed building trust, “international and regional issues of mutual interest,” and avenues for practical co-operation. Ottawa confirmed the meeting to Canadian media after the fact and told The Globe and Mail that fewer than 10 Canadian officials attended the meeting.
The highest-ranking Canadian participant was a major-general, a position two rungs below Canada’s chief of the defence staff. Beijing didn’t identify its delegation.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping released a joint statement in January, following Carney’s trip to China. They agreed to “advance outcomes in the areas” of trade, energy, finance, public security, people-to-people ties, and multilateralism. Defence co-ordination was not mentioned. A readout of a May meeting between Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and her Chinese counterpart also didn’t mentiondefence.
Ottawa framed this month’s dialogue, however, as functional military-to-military communications rather than any deepening of defence ties. A government spokesperson said that the meeting was “consistent with Canada’s broader defence engagement with partners across the Indo-Pacific region.”
On speaking terms
APF Canada’s Senior China Adviser, Elizabeth Donkervoort, told Asia Watch that in light of Canada–U.S. tensions, “Ottawa talking to Washington's chief competitor sends a strong message. Strategically, there is a real argument for keeping channels open with China. A few days before the Canada–China dialogue, the U.S. and China resumed their own command-level talks after a two-year break.”
Canada’s partners engage in similar dialogues and more senior-level forums. In 2025, China and Australia resumed a strategic dialogue on defence after a six-year pause, featuring the Australian military’s second-in-command. In June, New Zealand’s Vice Chief of Defence Force travelled to China for an annual strategic defence dialogue.
Working-level talks appear alongside these dialogues. In April, France hosted the 15th China–France Symposium on Security Policies for Senior Military Officers. In May, China and the U.S. heldworking-level talks in Hawaii under the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement. These meetings are designed to establish reliable lines of communication, lower tensions, and — ideally, but not always — provide advance warning of relevant military drills and transits.
In Canada’s case, this could mean discussionsover transits of the Taiwan Strait. In May, HMCS Charlottetownsailed through the Taiwan Strait, promptingprotests from Beijing. Ottawa has sailed vessels through the Taiwan Strait at least eight times since the release of its 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Donkervoort, however, said the move introduces risk. “Ottawa didn't announce this dialogue, and it still won't releasethe terms of a memorandum of understanding between the RCMP and China’s Ministry of Public Security,” she said. “It’s understandable to conceal your hand during a negotiation, but Canada is dealing with a state that uses military exchanges to collect intelligence. Moreover, Canada has real friction with China’s military, including in the Arctic — and Chinese ships shadowing ours in the Taiwan Strait.”
