“Starting from January 1, we are going to implement a new foreign investment law. We will establish a mechanism to punish those who infringe intellectual property rights as well as to compensate those who have suffered losses,” he said. “We will strengthen civil and criminal protection.”

Beneath smiles and handshakes, tensions simmer as leaders meet for G20

The Chinese president also said Beijing would give “comprehensive” equal treatment to foreign investors coming to China and put in place a regular channel for them to voice their grievances.

Xi has made similar promises before, but the timing of his speech – coming right before his talks with Trump – drew attention. While he did not mention the United States, intellectual property protection and market access are two key demands made by Washington in its trade talks with Beijing.

Xi also sought to ease the concerns of other major trade partners, saying China was ready to speed up negotiations with Europe as well as free-trade agreement talks with Japan and South Korea.

But Trump was also pushing his trade agenda, saying prospects in the US were improving. Before he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks, Trump said the two nations would announce a “big trade deal”. The White House said afterwards the two sides had agreed to work on resolving their trade disputes.

EU leaders issue trade war warning to US and China

The US president also again called for American allies to shut out Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from their 5G networks over security fears.

Escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington have raised concern among G20 members, and on Friday the European Union said the trade war was having a harmful impact on the global economy.

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Takeshi Osuga said that leaders at the summit had noted the risk posed by the conflict.

“There was a discussion on the trade issues. Some leaders expressed concerns about the current tension regarding trade. Others expressed concerns about unfair trade practices. Some leaders pointed out the importance of the fight against protectionism,” he said.

Activists call on world leaders in Osaka to press Xi Jinping on Hong Kong freedoms

Many leaders also noted the importance of a rules-based multilateral trade system and the urgency of World Trade Organisation reform, as well as the need for the G20 summit to provide a political push in these areas, according to Osuga.

He added that although different views were expressed, “there was no finger pointing at any country”.

In talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi, Xi said that the three nations should work together to safeguard their interests amid rising protectionism.

Earlier, Xi told the leaders of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa that China opposed “long-arm jurisdiction”. Beijing sees the arrest of Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Canada, at the request of the US, as an example of long-arm jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry official took aim at Trump’s protectionism, saying Xi’s meeting with several African leaders had “sent a strong new message about upholding multilateralism”.

“The rise of unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practices poses severe threats to economic globalisation and the international order, and severe challenges to the external environment of developing countries,” Dai Bing, director general of the foreign ministry’s African affairs department, told a news conference in Osaka.

The meeting of the world’s 20 major economies wraps up on Saturday, but the Xi-Trump talks are expected to dominate. China’s top trade negotiator, Vice-Premier Liu He, met US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday to prepare for the meeting.

Trump said he expected the talks with Xi would be productive, but denied he had given any assurance that the US would not impose further tariffs on Chinese imports.

“It’ll be a very exciting day I’m sure … It’s going to come out hopefully well for both countries,” he told reporters.

China dampens public expectations ahead of Xi-Trump summit

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said Xi had sought to remind the US and its allies of Beijing’s stance and to build confidence in its economy and policies.

“Xi’s speech included implicit warnings that you could say were targeted at the US and its partners, such as stressing the importance of managing conflict, and urging countries not to be limited by the short term or ‘make historical mistakes’,” Wang said.

“But the majority of his remarks had a very positive tone. He has attempted to reassure the world economy by laying out China’s plan for the future, and again touted policies like the Belt and Road Initiative to show that Beijing wants to continue being part of a multilateral global trade system as well as be involved in reforms of its own economy.”

Additional reporting by Kinling Lo and Catherine Wong