Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet China's President Xi Jinping in Brazil on Monday, as Beijing seeks to promote Australia as a model for trading with China in a Trump era, even as Canberra draws closer defence ties with Washington.

Several world leaders at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro seized the opportunity to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who returned to the global stage after skipping last year's gathering in India.

Xi Jinping is pushing Anthony Albanese to fight against protectionism in the wake of Donald Trump’s pledge to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, as the leaders declared China-Australia relations had returned to levels not observed since the 2014 free trade agreement.