Xi Jinping trip to Europe, Toyota earnings, Malaysia interest rates

Welcome to Your Week in Asia.

The world's second largest economy is to strengthen ties with Europe. From May 5 to 10, Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his first trip to Europe in about five years. The move comes as the European Union steps up scrutiny of trade with China in areas such as electric vehicles.

This week will also see many corporate heavyweights announce their earnings, including Toyota Motor, Nintendo and SMIC.

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MONDAY

Indonesia GDP

Indonesia's statistics agency will announce the country's gross domestic product in the January to March quarter. The median growth forecast of economists in a Reuters poll was 5% for the first quarter. Bank Indonesia, the central bank, said last month that growth in the first two quarters of 2024 was predicted to exceed that of the final quarter of 2023, driven by the rise in household consumption during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ran into early April this year, and the Eid holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

China's Xi on trip to Europe

Chinese President Xi Jinping is making his first tour of Europe with stops in France, Serbia and Hungary. Trade tensions are likely to take center stage when he meets with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, as officials around the continent cast wary eyes over imports of cheap Chinese electric vehicles subsidized by Beijing. Xi's visit to Belgrade will coincide with the anniversary of the 1999 bombing of China's embassy there by NATO forces. In Budapest, he will shore up ties with a man one expert described as the "EU's most disruptive player," Hungarian Prime