China says it held ‘candid and in-depth’ military talks with Canadian officials last week

As the Carney government pursues deeper relations with Beijing, the Chinese government reports it held a “candid” exchange on military issues with Canadian officials earlier this month.

The meeting — which Beijing said took place in Canada on Sept. 4 — followed years of diplomatic strain and is raising concerns among Conservatives, who reject the idea of military co-operation with China.

China’s defence ministry revealed the two countries held their fifth defence co-ordination dialogue last week. Canada’s Defence Department confirmed that report days later.

“The two 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 co-operation between the two militaries and enhanced mutual understanding and trust,” reads a news release.

Ottawa has not done any military exercises or co-operation with the People’s Liberation Army since 2018, during a diplomatic crisis involving Beijing’s detention of two Canadians.

The meeting marked “the resumption of military talks between the two countries after eight years,” according to the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. Canada’s Department of National Defence would not confirm that framing.

The department instead issued a news release saying the meeting took place “in support of ongoing military-to-military communications at the functional level.”

The meeting was “anchored in our commitment to protecting the safety of Canadians and the strategic interests of Canada. As a matter of long-standing practice, the government of Canada does not publicize working-level meetings by officials,” the release reads.

The department noted the Carney government’s approach of setting “guardrails” in Canada’s relations with China. “Under this framework, there are specific areas in which we will seek deeper co-operation with China and areas where we will not, which includes on defence.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was unconvinced, saying Carney is going back on comments last year where he said China was Canada’s biggest threat in the world.

“Now he is holding defence co-ordination talks with Beijing, which Canadians had to learn about from Chinese media,” Poilievre wrote on the platform X. “No ‘new world order.’ No military co-operation with a regime that kidnapped our people, interfered in our elections and set up police stations on our soil.”

In early 2024, Canadian military officials said they were pursuing more open dialogue with their Chinese counterparts.

That push followed an incident in early 2023 involving a high-altitude balloon. American authorities said the balloon had illegally flown from China across American and Canadian airspace, while carrying intelligence-gathering equipment but not actually transmitting information to China.

The Canadian military official tasked with communicating with countries such as China in January 2024 had told MPs that Ottawa was trying to go from “just speaking angrily to each other, to re-establish relationships.”

China’s ambassador at the time said this effort had been hindered by Canada sending navy ships through the Taiwan Strait, urging “mutual respect.”