THe Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
by Charles Burton
Edited by Kevin Cavanagh
October 22, 2025
Publisher: Optimum Publishing International
|
|
|
 |
The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
by Charles Burton
Edited by Kevin Cavanagh
For decades, Canada believed it could gently shape China into a responsible global actor through diplomacy, commerce, and cultural exchange. But as this clear-eyed, searing account reveals, it was China that ended up reshaping us. In The Beaver and The Dragon, acclaimed sinologist Charles Burton takes readers inside Canada’s most fateful geopolitical miscalculation. Drawing on a lifetime of engagement ― from dorm rooms at Fudan University to behind-closed-doors diplomacy in Beijing ― Burton chronicles China’s strategic ascent and the naïveté that allowed it to happen within Canada's political and corporate boardrooms.
From Tiananmen Square to hostage diplomacy, this book captures the history we lived through but failed to understand that has allowed China and Beijing's authoritarian model to quitely infiltrate all of Canada's institutions including the halls of parliament. These essays, written in real time across four Canadian governments, expose the illusions of engagement and the emergence of an authoritarian power that seeks to dominate the 21st century at democracy's expense.
The essays combined with his new insights expose the sharp power tactics and global ambitions that define Xi Jinping’s China and how Canada has become a proving ground for its totalitarian ambitions. But Burton also leaves us with a challenge ― and a hope ― that democratic resilience can reclaim the future.
His solution for Canadian policy makers and businesses is to understand that China is not interested in friendship for Win-Win trade but rather total dominance and global hegemony at the expense of our nation. With those lessons learned engagement must be about every element of the Chinese regimes internal and external policy dynamics.
Indigo / Amazon |
|
|
Reviews:
Charles Burton is without question one of the world’s foremost China specialist. A former colleague, he has spent decades tirelessly warning about China’s long game. His analyses often read with the intensity and suspense of a thriller writer. I hold him in the highest regard. -- Nathalie Vogel ― Research Fellow, Center for Intermarium Studies |
|
|
About the book:
The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security, and Sovereignty
by Charles Burton
Edited by Kevin Cavanagh
Optimum Publishing International - 264 pages 21.12 (Paperback)
Publication Date: October 22, 2025
|
|
 |
|
About the Author: Charles Burton
Charles Burton is a distinguished Canadian sinologist and senior fellow at Sinopsis, a Prague-based research platform focused on China's influence in global democratic systems. A longtime professor of political science at Brock University, Burton has specialized in comparative politics, Confucian political philosophy, and the evolving dynamics of Canada-China relations. He studied at Cambridge University before leaving for Fudan University in Shanghai, where he was among the first Canadian scholars embedded in China's academic system following the Cultural Revolution.
Burton's career includes diplomatic service at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, where he advised on Communist Party communications and strategic developments. As a columnist and commentator, his analyses have appeared in The Globe and Mail, National Post, The Toronto Star, and international outlets. Fluent in Mandarin and deeply versed in Chinese political culture, Burton brings unmatched insight into the ideology, tactics, and global ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party.
Biography Credit: Black Bond Books
|
|
 |
|
About the Author: Kevin Cavanagh
Kevin Cavanagh is an editor and former senior executive at Postmedia Network Inc., Canada's largest print and digital newspaper publisher. Over his 35-year career, he held leadership roles in some of the country's most influential newsrooms, directing coverage on national politics, foreign affairs, and public accountability. Cavanaugh's editorial expertise helps bring clarity and cohesion to complex geopolitical narratives, making him an essential voice in shaping this book's structure and public engagement.
Biography Credit: Black Bond Books
|
|
À propos du livre :
Le castor et le dragon : comment la Chine a surpassé le Canada en matière de diplomatie, de sécurité et de souveraineté
par Charles Burton
Édité par Kevin Cavanagh
Optimum Publishing International - 264 pages 21,12 (broché)
Date de publication : 22 octobre 2025 |
|
Book Review / Revue de livres
Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
Avertissement : Les articles sont choisis pour leur pertinence et sont diffusés à titre d'information seulement. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des journalistes/auteurs respectifs. La republication n'implique pas d'approbation.
Rédacteur en chef des critiques de livres : Ralph Mahar - Les suggestions de critiques de livres sont les bienvenues à l'adresse suivante : thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
