My guess is the canard is a design compromise to give more pitch control at high angles of attack. This tells me they haven't figured out fly-by-wire quite yet. The canard also won't help the RCS a bit.
The Chinese will learn early on in this aircraft's first engagement with a foe that just because it looks like a stealth airplane doesn't mean it is a stealth airplane. There's a lot more to radar stealth than just shape....
The Chengdu guys really like canards despite the hit on RCS,which can be managed, and they have not yet mastered some of the more sophisticated methods of pitch control.
I would not dismiss this design - they have been working on it since the 80’s and it could be very well executed within the materials and technological constraints they are dealing with.