The Chinese president has spoken of the "twists and turns" in recent relations with Australia during talks with Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

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.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's relationship with Australia has achieved a turnaround and the two countries are maintaining a positive momentum of development, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met 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.

Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Emily Wind with the main action. Anthony Albanese has met China’s president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil overnight with Beijing trying to promote Australia as a model for trading with China in a Trump era.

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.