In a rare move, a Chinese fighter jet launched flares in front of a Canadian helicopter flying over the South China Sea, the Department of National Defence is reporting. The Oct. 29 incident involved a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter embarked on the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa. DND says the helicopter was conducting routine manoeuvres over international airspace when it was intercepted by two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) J-11 fighter jets. The initial encounters were safe but two subsequent ones were not, said the department. One pass of the Cyclone was conducted with little separation and the pilot had to take action to respond to the turbulence. Later that day during a second sortie, the helicopter was again intercepted. This time a J-11 fighter launched flares directly in front of the helicopter. DND says the pilot had to manoeuvre to avoid the flares....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/chinese-warplane-fires-flares-close-to-canadian-helicopter-in-south-china-sea-5522560
China’s most high-ranking officials paid their last respects to former Premier Li Keqiang amid swirling rumors of turmoil within the upper echelons of the leadership. Mr. Li died of a sudden heart attack on Oct. 26, after all rescue measures failed, according to an obituary published by the official news agency Xinhua. The sudden passing of Mr. Li came just seven months after he retired from the premier’s post, the country’s No. 2 position, triggering an outpouring of grief as well as skepticism of the official account of his death. Mr. Li’s funeral was attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, Xinhua reported. Other powerful members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) top decision-making body, also paid tributes at the funeral on Nov. 2.... 
Senior officials from the United States and China met in Beijing on Friday for what the State Department described as “substantive” and “candid” talks on maritime issues, including on the contested South China Sea. The talks were held in Beijing between Mark Lambert, the department’s China Coordinator and deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, and China’s director-general for boundary and ocean affairs, Hong Liang. The department said the meeting was part of the Biden administration’s “ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication” with Beijing and “responsibly manage the U.S.-China relationship.” “The United States reiterated the need to resume military-military channels, including between operators, to avoid miscommunication and miscalculation,” it said in a statement on Friday....
Hundreds of U.S. schools are now under the control of one Chinese company. Its chairman is allegedly a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Rounds of new action are making their way through Congress. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing through one legislation after another with a goal in mind: countering the CCP’s influence. An alleged million-dollar bribe to China was revealed in testimony for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. An ex-executive said the sum sought to help recover a billion dollars in frozen company capital. And an expert weighs on the UK’s decision to invite China to an AI summit....