BEIJING — By the time China’s leader, Xi Jinping, sees President Trump on Saturday, he will already have met with the leaders of Russia, India, Japan and some African nations, appearances the Chinese choreographed to portray Mr. Xi as a man of the world with enough friends to offset the animosity of the United States.

That depiction of Mr. Xi as the leader of a great power at the Group of 20 meeting is important for his home audience in the face of slowing economic growth. The meeting with Mr. Trump is expected to produce little more than a fragile truce in the trade conflict, and probably the start of a new round of talks, so Mr. Xi needs to be shown as pursuing a bigger agenda, Chinese and Western analysts said.

The Chinese leader has signaled he would present Mr. Trump with a plan from the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, for reviving nuclear talks. He would likely work to keep the trade negotiations alive, they said, but may consider waiting out Mr. Trump in the hope of dealing with a more predictable American leader in 2021. Mr. Xi could offer the prospect of better access to the Chinese market that Washington wants, but not under the pressure of a new set of tariffs.