After Chinese leader Xi Jinping gained absolute power at the 20th National Congress, his cronies who have developed personal relationships with him from his previous positions in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have become China’s new cabinet members. But such a combination does not guarantee monolithic unity with the Fujian clan, led by Cai Qi gaining the upper hand over the Zhejiang clan in the recent political struggles. Li Qiang, a member of the Zhejiang clan, has become the weakest premier in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In June this year, Mr. Li’s first visit to Europe after becoming the premier was on a chartered plane instead of the premier’s special plane. The downgrading of his status has aroused attention.... ANALYSIS: Xi Jinping’s Confidant Cai Qi Takes Center Stage, Weakens Premier Li Qiang
After Chinese leader Xi Jinping gained absolute power at the 20th National Congress, his cronies who have developed personal relationships with him from his previous positions in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have become China’s new cabinet members. But such a combination does not guarantee monolithic unity with the Fujian clan, led by Cai Qi gaining the upper hand over the Zhejiang clan in the recent political struggles. Li Qiang, a member of the Zhejiang clan, has become the weakest premier in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In June this year, Mr. Li’s first visit to Europe after becoming the premier was on a chartered plane instead of the premier’s special plane. The downgrading of his status has aroused attention.... 
A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of a U.S. bomber in a nighttime intercept over the South China Sea on Oct. 24, putting both aircraft “in danger of collision,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said. INDOPACOM said the pilot of a Shenyang J-11 “flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” and “demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed” near the U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber. “We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision,” the U.S. military said in a statement. Footage released by INDOPACOM shows the Chinese J-11 fighter flying in close proximity, within 10 feet of the B-52 bomber that was “lawfully conducting routine operations” over the South China Sea....
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on the world to protect the current international rules-based order from the ambitions of the Chinese regime. On Oct. 26, the prime minister delivered a keynote address at a state lunch co-hosted by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “China has been explicit: it does not see itself as a status-quo power,” Mr. Albanese said. “It seeks a region and a world that is much more accommodating of its values and interests. This is where it is the responsibility of every nation that has benefited from the stability and prosperity of the international rules-based order through the last three-quarters of a century, to work together and protect it.”...
Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang has died of a sudden heart attack, according to China’s state-run media. Mr. Li, 68, was once the second most powerful political figure in China behind Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He was premier from March 2013 until March this year, when he retired. According to China’s state-run media, Mr. Li was taking a rest in Shanghai in the days before the sudden heart attack on Oct. 26. He passed away 10 minutes past midnight on Oct. 27, local time, after unsuccessful “all-out efforts” to revive him. Mr. Li was a member of a political faction in China known as “tuanpai,” or the Youth League Faction, in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)....