Su-33 is a true canarded aircraft, but if you mean is not a delta wing-canard aircraft it is true, Su-33 is not a delta wing canard aircraft.
If you look at this Rafale turning you can see it barely deflects the canards, in my opinion the difference is related to the light weight configuration the Rafale is flying (low wing loading) and the difference in static stability.
I think that difference in static stability, reflects a difference in role, as the paper originally claimed
[video=youtube;AcpT1ItVmno]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcpT1ItVmno&feature=related[/video]
But the Chinese airplane appears to
have the center of gravity position somewhere
at MAC’s edge. It is fairly strange
for a maneuverable fighter, since balancing
of the aerodynamic forces and
the gravity will require relatively high deflection
of the control surfaces — canards
in the J-20’s case. Should this airplane try
to execute high-G maneuvers at subsonic
speeds, the deflection of the canards could
be a limitation.
This was predicted a year ago, in my opinion J-20 is indeed a striker interceptor
In our view the Chinese designers optimized
their new jet for M=1.3–1.6.constructed
Here comes the clue: the J-20 is a missile
launching platform able to evade enemy
interceptors by high cruise speed.
The J-20 may prove a good interceptor, —
very possibly. But its main task seems to
be anti-shipping: firing missiles at enemy
warships while denying their air defense
cover.
[video=youtube;lKq1fZou_1Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKq1fZou_1Y&feature=player_embedded[/video]
Compare with J-20 at 4:20 minute, you can see the J-20 is deflecting a lot its canards, reflecting the difference in static stability and role according to the paper