Defence Minister John McCallum says it is unlikely Ottawa will send any soldiers to Iraq -- even if the UN Security Council approves a U.S. draft resolution to get more peacekeeping troops and money into Baghdad.

McCallum told CTV's Canada AM Tuesday that the country is too focused on Afghanistan to shift priorities.

"The secret to success is focus," McCallum said. "Our soldiers cannot engage in every effort around the world no matter how important it is, we have to make choices."

McCallum -- who is in China for bilateral defence talks -- also said Tuesday he has agreed in principle to strengthening military ties between the nations. The defence minister said the issue was front-and-centre in meetings with his counterpart, Gen. Cao Ganchuan in Beijing Tuesday.

McCallum began his week-long visit last Thursday. He is only the second visit by a Canadian defence minister and the first since Gilles Lamontagne, a Trudeau minister, went there in 1983.

McCallum said the point was not lost in discussions with his Chinese counterpart.

"His first point was that the last time a Canadian defence minister visited was 20 years ago, it would be better to do it every two years. And we agreed with that."

McCallum said Canada and China already share strong economic, political and cultural ties.

"It's the military to military that's been weak after 20 years absence. So, we came to good agreements today to strengthen bilateral ties."

The defence minister said China has expressed interest in visiting one of Canada's peacekeeping operations, for instance.

"Canada's strength is peacekeeping, and we want to export and share that expertise," McCallum said.

China shares a sliver of border with Afghanistan and has concerns about terrorism in its western provinces near that border.

Canada has almost 2,000 soldiers in Kabul, and is taking the lead role in the international stabilization mission there.

"We've got 40 per cent of the total of the security forces ... I believe a country of Canada's size will have most impact if it focuses. And our focus today is in Afghanistan."

During his tour of China, McCallum is expected to meet other senior government officials, including Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. He is scheduled to address China's national defence college on Wednesday.