What is China up to? $$$
A high-tech Chinese research vessel has been detected mapping strategically important waters off the Western Australian coast where submarines are known to regularly transit.
Key points:
A Defence official said the ship was mapping waters used by Australian submarines to get to the South China Sea
A Border Force spokesperson said the Xiang Yang Hong 01 had stayed in international waters
In 2018, the Xiang Yang Hong 01 was found to be operating illegally within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Palau
In January and February, officials closely tracked the movements of the oceanographic ship as it conducted deepwater surveys in the Indian Ocean near Christmas Island and the Australian mainland.
Thousands of new Audis sit in a car park in Changchun, Jilin Province.
Here's China in rice, cultivated on the outskirts of Shanghai.
Red chilli is dried in the sun in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
In a new video released by state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday, Chinese troops are seen simulating an attack on an unidentified island during a large-scale military exercise.
Over the weekend, the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen (pictured on Saturday) said she has hopes for less tensions with China and in the region if Beijing will listen to Taipei´s concerns, alter its approach and restart dialogue with the self-ruled island democracy
Xi slammed the US as an 'insufferably arrogant invader' and hailed the Chinese and North Korean soldiers for defeating the 'unstoppable' American troops 70 years ago.
The combined might of Russia and China's militaries - that rank second and third on the global Power Index - would dwarf their western rival's military in a number of key categories.
NEW Former Australia-China Business Council head and Howard Government minister Warwick Smith expressed deep concern for Australia's role in the increasingly fraught US-China relationship.
Mr Smith called on the Federal Government to focus on working out how Australia deals with 'the new China' as it could ill-afford to botch relations with its greatest ally or its biggest trading partner.
'China has moved from assertive to aggression,' he said.
'It's China that's changed, not Australia. But that doesn't mean we don't try and understand what the reason is.
'We don't need to be offensive. But what we have to do is work out how we deal with the new China.'
All Chinese companies have been informally instructed by the Communist Party to stop buying Australian barley, sugar, red wine, logs, coal, lobster and copper.
Mr Smith said it would be difficult and time-consuming for Australia to move away from its biggest trading partner if relations continued to sour, and producers would suffer unless the government made moves to end the conflict.
+6 China has announced bans on Australian barley, sugar, red wine, logs, coal, lobster, copper and timber exports. Pictured is a cargo ship in Hobart loaded with timber
'We should not in any means be complacent in overstating our confidence it will be easily resolved to our exporters - for them it is absolutely vital,' Mr Smith warned.
'It's not something you want to give false confidence to.
'Diversity doesn't come quickly. It takes a long period of time. You can't just switch one market off and then go to another. So, having a correct narrative from government is very important.
'You can't immediately diversify all your trade overnight. You cannot. This requires realism and it needs to be more deeply understood in Canberra.'
+6 Relations with China continue to deteriorate unless Australia responds to Beijing's shift in attitude from 'assertive to aggression.' Pictured is a Chinese Naval ship in Sydney Harbour in June 2019
Former ASIO director-general Dennis Richardson, who previously led the Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade departments believes Australia will remain 'in the doghouse for a good two to three years'.
'The notion that the Prime Minister could stand up tomorrow and give a glowing speech and everything returns to quite normal I think is a bit far-fetched. That can't happen and won't happen,' he said.
'I think at the moment, the Australia-China relationship is too caught up with domestic politics in Australia, both inside the Labor Party and inside the Liberal Party.
'Ultimately, you cannot successfully manage a foreign policy if it's so caught up in internal party. You've got to show leadership.'
+6 China is holding up Australian lobsters at airports as trade tensions between the two nations escalate. Pictured: A worker packs rock lobster in Perth
+6 Warren Smith (pictured) described Australia's role in the US-China trade war as 'a little boat between two big rocks'
Earlier in the webcast, federal Trade and Finance minister Simon Birmingham described it as a complex time for Australia's international engagement.
He addressed the challenges and trade opportunities for Australia in the wake of a 'remarkable' US election won by newly-elected President Joe Biden.
Though believes China will remain as Australia's most biggest trading partner for the foreseeable future, Mr Birmingham urged Australia businesses to 'consider their options in emerging markets' such as India and Vietnam.
China's latest escalation was warning Australia it would suffer further economic pain if it continued to be part of the US administration's 'roughneck gang'.
Australia's recent decision to take part in the war games alongside Beijing's Indo-Pacific rivals - the US, Japan, and India - outraged the authoritarian regime.
A strongly-worded editorial in the Communist Party mouthpiece, China Daily, blasted the Morrison government for 'aggressively sending warships to China's doorsteps' as part of Exercise Malabar.
+6 Warren Smith said Australia must work out how to deal with 'the new China'. Pictured is Troops in military vehicles take part in the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China
How China's feud with Australia has escalated2019: Australian intelligence services conclude that China was responsible for a cyber-attack on Australia's parliament and three largest political parties in the run-up to a May election.
April 2020: Australian PM Scott Morrison begins canvassing his fellow world leaders for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Britain and France are initially reluctant but more than 100 countries eventually back an investigation.
April 15: Morrison is one of the few leaders to voice sympathy with Donald Trump's criticisms of the World Health Organization, which the US president accuses of bias towards China.
April 21: China's embassy accuses Australian foreign minister Peter Dutton of 'ignorance and bigotry' and 'parroting what those Americans have asserted' after he called for China to be more transparent about the outbreak.
April 23: Australia's agriculture minister David Littleproud calls for G20 nations to campaign against the 'wet markets' which are common in China and linked to the earliest coronavirus cases.
April 26: Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye hints at a boycott of Australian wine and beef and says tourists and students might avoid Australia 'while it's not so friendly to China'. Canberra dismisses the threat and warns Beijing against 'economic coercion'.
May 11: China suspends beef imports from four of Australia's largest meat processors. These account for more than a third of Australia's $1.1billion beef exports to China.
May 18: The World Health Organization backs a partial investigation into the pandemic, but China says it is a 'joke' for Australia to claim credit. The same day, China imposes an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley. Australia says it may challenge this at the WTO.
May 21: China announces new rules for iron ore imports which could allow Australian imports - usually worth $41billion per year - to be singled out for extra bureaucratic checks.
June 5: Beijing warns tourists against travelling to Australia, alleging racism and violence against the Chinese in connection with Covid-19.
June 9: China's Ministry of Education warns students to think carefully about studying in Australia, similarly citing alleged racist incidents.
June 19: Australia says it is under cyber-attack from a foreign state which government sources say is believed to be China. The attack has been targeting industry, schools, hospitals and government officials, Morrison says.
July 9: Australia suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong and offers to extend the visas of 10,000 Hong Kongers who are already in Australia over China's national security law which effectively bans protest.
August 18: China launches 12-month anti-dumping investigation into wines imported from Australia in a major threat to the $6billion industry.
August 26: Prime Minster Scott Morrison announces he will legislate to stop states and territories signing deals with foreign powers that go against Australia's foreign policy. Analysts said it is aimed at China
October 13: Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says he's investigating reports that Chinese customs officials have informally told state-owned steelmakers and power plants to stop Aussie coal, leaving it in ships off-shore.
November 2: Agriculture Minister David Littleproud reveals China is holding up Aussie lobster imports by checking them for minerals.
November 3: Barley, sugar, red wine, logs, coal, lobster and copper will be banned from Friday.
China's mammoth population census: tracking the changeschinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-11-11 06:30 
On Nov 1, China launched the seventh population census across the country. Census is a major way to know of the population's size, structure and distribution, map demographic changes and provide accurate statistical information for authorities to make policies.
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'We respect the choice of the American people. We extend congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms Harris,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday at a regular daily briefing.
A change in the wind: scrapped taxis sit idle as the city of Taiyuan converts to electric taxis.
Image: REUTERS/Stringer