Xi Jinping’s speech on Tuesday may be the surprise highlight of the week

Xi will certainly touch on trade

The week ahead has plenty on the economic calendar but with fear of a trade war dominating market sentiment, the Chinese response is key.

President Xi will have a chance to respond in a big way at the Boao Forum, which is Asia’s answer to Davos.

The event will be packed with investors and gives him an opportunity to ramp up the rhetoric or (most likely) try to tone it down. My guess is he will try to de-escalate the rhetoric. China rarely inflames sensitive issues in public.

At the same time, the tariff dispute has set off anti-American sentiment in China and it’s an opportunity to push back against the US.