China 'Two Sessions', ASEAN-Australia Summit, Malaysia rate decision
Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
Monday will see the start of the ASEAN-Australia Summit in Melbourne and the U.S.-South Korea annual military exercises.
China's National People's Congress, the legislative branch, begins its yearly meetings on Tuesday, with Premier Li Qiang delivering a work report that includes growth targets for 2024.
E-commerce giants Sea and JD.com are set to report earnings this week.
Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, formerly Twitter, @NikkeiAsia.
MONDAY
China's "Two Sessions" start
China's top political consultative body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, convenes in Beijing, kicking off the weeklong annual legislative season known as the "Two Sessions." Premier Li Qiang is expected to present a report at the National People's Congress on Tuesday, unveiling GDP growth target for 2024 along with national budget and socioeconomic policy outlines. Politicians, academicians, businesspersons and other representatives of the society who made up the roughly 5,000 delegates will take part in discussions -- most of them behind closed doors.
Australia hosts ASEAN summit
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host leaders from Southeast Asia in Melbourne for a three-day special summit starting on Monday. The meeting marks 50 years of Australian-ASEAN dialogue relations and will cover key themes of Australia's Southeast Asian Economic Strategy including trade, investment, climate change and clean energy, and maritime security.
Vietnam and Australia plan to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership after the ASEAN-Australia summit.
Annual U.S.-South Korea joint military drills kick off
South Korea and the U.S. will