China and Canada Resume Defense Talks After 8 Years, Expanding Ties Amid US-Canada Trade Dispute

First Defense Working Meeting Since 2018
China: "Strengthening Practical Exchanges and Cooperation Between Militaries"
Security Channel Restored After Carney's Inauguration, Following Progress in Trade and Aviation
Disagreements Persist Over Issues Such as Taiwan

China and Canada have resumed official defense-level talks for the first time in over eight years. Amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada, the rapidly improving relationship between China and Canada since the beginning of this year is now extending from economic and diplomatic spheres to military cooperation.

Mark Carney (left), Canadian Prime Minister, and Xi Jinping, Chinese President, are holding a summit meeting. Photo by Yonhap News Agency through Reuters

According to China's Ministry of National Defense on September 6, the two countries held the fifth China-Canada Defense Working Meeting in Canada on September 4. The ministry stated that both sides exchanged views on international and regional situations as well as issues of mutual interest, and expressed their intentions to strengthen practical exchanges and cooperation between their militaries.

This was the first Defense Working Meeting between China and Canada since April 2018. China’s Ministry of National Defense did not disclose the meeting’s participants or specific agenda. As of September 6, the Canadian Ministry of National Defense had also not released a separate statement on the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, a high-level Chinese military delegation visited Canada. Yang Zibin, Commander of the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, attended the 28th Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference from August 31 to September 2 in Victoria, British Columbia. The conference was co-hosted by the Canadian Forces and the United States Indo-Pacific Command, with 32 countries invited.

According to China’s Ministry of National Defense, Commander Yang proposed expanding defense exchanges and cooperation among regional countries at the conference, and held separate meetings with representatives from the United States, France, Singapore, and others. China’s Eastern Theater Command is the key command for the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.

Military exchanges between China and Canada were effectively suspended after relations deteriorated in 2018. In December of that year, relations quickly soured when Canada, at the request of the United States, arrested Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company’s vice chairwoman. According to the Canadian Ministry of National Defense, the two militaries last participated in joint bilateral military exercises in 2018, and subsequent planned exercises and exchanges were cancelled.

However, some high-level military contacts continued. In 2024, Bill Blair, then Canada’s Minister of National Defense, met with Dong Jun, China’s Minister of National Defense, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ defense ministers in 11 years.

Bilateral relations recovered rapidly after Mark Carney became Prime Minister of Canada. In January, Prime Minister Carney made an official visit to China—the first such visit by a Canadian prime minister in about eight years—and held a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. They announced a “new strategic partnership” to focus on five key areas: energy, economic and trade relations, public safety and security, multilateralism, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Trade tensions were also significantly eased. In March, China reduced tariffs on Canadian canola seeds from about 85% to 14.9%, and suspended additional tariffs on canola meal, peas, lobsters, and crabs until the end of the year. Canada, in turn, decided to apply a most-favored-nation tariff of 6.1%—instead of the previous 100% additional duty—on 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles. In April, the two countries also expanded their direct passenger and cargo flights.

This resumption of defense talks coincides with the timing of a renewed trade war between Canada and its largest trading partner, the United States. On August 21, the United States imposed a 50% tariff on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian products, and Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs of the same scale on U.S. products starting September 8. Prime Minister Carney has repeatedly stated his intention to diversify Canada’s external markets following the breakdown of trade negotiations with the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.