economic data: The People’s Bank of China announces the interest rate on its one-year medium-term lending facility. “If there is a cut today, we can be absolutely sure of that [Tuesday’s] The GDP report will be worse than expected,” says Robert Carnell, head of Asia Pacific research at ING. India and Singapore publish trade balance figures for March.
India: Several three-day meetings kick off under India’s G20 presidency: the health working group is meeting in Goa, the digital economy working group is meeting in Hyderabad, and top agricultural scientists are meeting in Varanasi. The two-day G20 Space Economy Leaders’ Meeting kicks off in Shillong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is traveling to Somnath to inaugurate the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam, a two-week cultural event celebrating the Tamil community in their home state of Gujarat.
Australia: Mark McGowan, the premier of Western Australia, has embarked on a five-day trade-focused trip to China, his first in four years and another sign of easing tensions between Beijing and Canberra. The state accounted for 53 per cent of all Australian goods trade with China in 2021-2022, according to official data.
industry: Chinaplas 2023, the world’s largest plastics and rubber industry trade fair, has opened at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. Organizers say about 160,000 visitors are expected to see the products and services of nearly 4,000 exhibitors. The Canton Fair, which opened on Saturday and welcomed overseas visitors for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, runs until May 5.
technology: Beijing-based mobile game developer Kunlun is hosting a public test of its ChatGPT-like product, while Shenzhen-based telecoms company Huawei has launched its Nova 11 range of mobile phones.
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