In his first global meetings since Donald Trump was reelected to lead the U.S., Chinese President Xi Jinping went on a diplomatic offensive, hedging against expected new tariffs and preparing to exploit potential future rifts between Washington and its allies.

At meeting after meeting, from APEC in Peru to G20 in Brazil over the last week, Xi sought to draw a contrast with Trump's "America First" message, presenting himself as a predictable defender of the multilateral global trade order.

Summit organisers, diplomats and negotiators also describe a noticeable shift from previous summits in a more constructive posture by Chinese diplomats, who were less focused on their narrow interests and more involved in building a broader consensus.

The outreach is urgent for Beijing. While better prepared for another Trump White House - with many tech companies far less reliant on U.S. imports - China is also more vulnerable after its economy was hit by a huge property crisis.

Much of China's attention has focused on the Global South, with state news agency Xinhua praising the G20 for including the African Union as one of the members. The voice of the Global South needed to be "not merely heard but also translated into tangible influence," Xinhua said.

By making such overtures, China wants to expand its leading position in parts of the developing world where the U.S. has long lagged due to its inability to match the billion-dollar investments that China's state-led economy has marshalled.

“To position China as a defender of globalisation and a critic of protectionism, this calculated messaging comes at a time when many countries in the Global South fear the potential return of indiscriminate trade and tariff policies from the U.S., particularly under Trump’s influence,” said Sunny Cheung, associate fellow for China Studies at Jamestown Foundation, a think tank based in Washington DC.

"Xi's remarks aim to present China as a more stable and sensible and most importantly a reciprocal partner in contrast to perceived U.S. unpredictability."

Ibrahim said it had not yet been decided whether the debt earmarked for the swap would be the Islamic bond or bilateral debt or what the size of the swap was expected to be.

According to World Bank data, the country's total public and publicly guaranteed debt stood at $8.2 billion, equivalent to 116% of GDP, in the first quarter of this year.

About half of that is external debt, with a big chunk owed to China and India which have extended $1.37 billion and $124 million in loans, respectively, numbers from the Washington-based lender show.

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