Next week's heavy financial schedule: major meetings, significant data, a critical moment has begun

October 20 - October 26 Weekly Major Financial Events Overview, all times in Beijing:

Key Focus Next Week: Major economic data from China, U.S. CPI, Manufacturing PMI. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, and the Federal Reserve's payment innovation conference. The 47th ASEAN Summit will be held in Malaysia, with Trump in attendance.

In addition, industry associations such as the China Solid-State Battery Conference, Low-Altitude Economy Conference, and 2025 Satellite Application Conference will be held, and XPeng may release a robot on its Technology Day. The U.S.-China earnings season is reaching its peak, with earnings reports from Tesla, IBM, Intel, Coca-Cola, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, CATL, iFlytek, China Unicom, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Poly coming up.

Economic Indicators

• U.S. September CPI, October Markit Manufacturing PMI

The U.S. September CPI, originally scheduled for release on October 15, has been postponed to October 24 due to the government shutdown, and the October Markit Manufacturing PMI will also be released on the same day.

The market expects a slight decline in year-on-year CPI but still at a high level, with core CPI remaining sticky. These two data points will directly impact the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate meeting decisions.

• China's GDP, Real Estate Development Investment, Retail Sales, and Other Key Economic Data

On October 20, the State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on the national economic operation. China will release several key economic indicators, including GDP, real estate development investment, retail sales, and industrial value-added above designated size.

CICC Research expects that the year-on-year growth rate of actual GDP in the third quarter may slightly decline, but the nominal GDP growth rate is expected to improve marginally. In terms of consumption, the marginal decline of the trade-in policy may lead to a slowdown in retail sales growth. Affected by the global manufacturing cycle recovery and the misalignment of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, September exports remain resilient, which is expected to drive improvement in industrial value-added growth.

On the same day, China's latest LPR data will also be released.

Financial Events

• The 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress will be held in Beijing from October 24 to 28

According to Xinhua News Agency, the 51st Chairman Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress was held on the morning of the 15th at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chairman Zhao Leji presided over the meeting. The meeting decided that the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress will be held in Beijing from October 24 to 28.

• The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China recently held a meeting to study and formulate major issues in the 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development. The meeting decided that the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing from October 20 to 23

• The Federal Reserve holds a payment innovation conference to discuss stablecoins, artificial intelligence, and tokenization

The Federal Reserve will hold a conference on payment innovation on October 21, discussing several emerging topics, including the application scenarios of stablecoins, the intersection of artificial intelligence and the payment sector, and the tokenization of financial products and services.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will deliver a keynote speech. Federal Reserve Governor Waller will give the opening remarks at the Federal Reserve Board's payment innovation conference.

• The 47th ASEAN Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with Trump in attendance

The 47th ASEAN Summit will take place from October 26 to October 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leaders from ASEAN member countries will attend, and U.S. President Trump has confirmed his attendance. Malaysia, which will hold the ASEAN chairmanship in 2025, has set the theme for this chairmanship term as "Inclusiveness and Sustainability," emphasizing ASEAN's commitment to strengthening regional peace, stability, and prosperity within an inclusive, sustainable, and future-oriented framework.

Timor-Leste, which was "principally" agreed to be accepted as an ASEAN member in 2022, is expected to officially join ASEAN at this summit.

• China Solid-State Battery Conference, Low-Altitude Economy Conference, 2025 Satellite Application Conference, XPeng Technology Day

A series of major industry summits are coming up. The China Solid-State Battery Conference will be held in Hefei from October 22 to 24, with participation from CATL, Weilan New Energy, Guoxuan High-Tech, and others. Meanwhile, the "Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 3.0" will be globally released on October 22.

Additionally, the China Communications Society plans to hold the 2025 Satellite Application Conference in Beijing from October 25 to 27, 2025. The China Low-Altitude Economy Innovation Application and Standardization Promotion Conference will be held in Zhongguancun, Beijing, on October 24. The China Photovoltaic Industry Association is scheduled to hold the "High-Quality Development and Technical Standards Forum for the Photovoltaic Industry" on October 23-24, 2025.

Furthermore, on October 24, XPeng Technology Day may announce the XPeng robot.

Financial Reports

• U.S. Stock Financial Reports: Tesla, IBM, Intel, Coca-Cola, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, etc.

This week, the financial reporting season in China and the U.S. is gradually reaching its peak, with the U.S. market focusing on the performance of Tesla, Intel, and IBM.

The market is paying attention to Tesla's FSD progress and Intel's AI chip orders. IBM's transformation in AI enterprise services is also worth noting. According to CNBC analysis, the revenue contribution of IBM's watsonx platform in the enterprise market will be a key indicator for assessing the success or failure of its AI strategy.

In addition, the latest financial reports from several companies, including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, and Blackstone, will be released.

• A-share Financial Reports: CATL, iFlytek, China Unicom, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Poly, etc.

In the Chinese market, the three major telecom operators, CATL, iFlytek, and others will release their latest financial reports. If CATL's solid-state battery technology roadmap signals clear mass production, it may trigger a reassessment of the value of the new energy industry chain