India votes, China GDP and Germany's Scholz meets Xi in Beijing

Welcome to Your Week in Asia.

India on Friday kicks off national elections, with some 970 million people eligible to vote across the world's biggest democracy.

Earlier in the week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, while the world's second-biggest economy posts quarterly economic growth figures on Tuesday.

Major chipmaker TSMC reports quarterly earnings on Thursday.

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MONDAY

OpenAI to open its first Asian office in Tokyo

OpenAI, developer of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, is set to open its first Asian office in Tokyo, for sales and customer support. The American company backed by tech group Microsoft will also likely be looking to ramp up its advocacy in the region, as developed nations eye restrictions on generative AI.

Earnings: CATL

Monetary policy: China

TUESDAY

Scholz meets Xi

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, as the two countries seek to recalibrate their ties. The trip comes amid Europe's growing scrutiny of Chinese exports flooding its markets, especially electric cars. At the same time, Berlin is keen for an end to a Chinese ban on its pork exports. As with Beijing's recent lifting of punitive tariffs on Australian wine, such a move would be seen as an effort to cozy up to U.S. partners.

China's Q1 economic growth

China announces its first-quarter gross domestic product and a slew of other data. Economists polled by Reuters have pointed to a growth rate of 4.6%, slower than the 5.2% achieved in the final quarter of 2023, as the world's No. 2 economy struggles to energize demand and cope with a