When Hu Jintao meets other leaders at the mountainous, earthquake-ravaged town of L'Aquila, China's president is unlikely to make any earth-shattering statements, but will adopt a practical approach amid debates over the world's hot economic and political issues.

China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said earlier that the annual summit of the Group of Eight powers is "not representative enough" and that the Group of 20, which will hold a forum in Pittsburgh in September, has played an important role in tackling international issues such as the financial crisis.

Taking that as a clue, observers believe Hu's activities in L'Aquila will focus more on laying ground about how China wants to play its role in the G20 summit, apart from making a persistent call for giving emerging nations a stronger voice in global matters.

"Hu will likely target more practical outcome" at the summit, such as seeking ways to consolidate China's still-fragile economic recovery, and use the summit as a channel for "valuable dialogues," said Eurasia Group analyst Nicholas Consonery.

Hu will likely give a nudge to the widely watched issue of diversifying the international monetary system and call for more global coordination in regulatory scrutiny, Consonery said. However, he will shy away from being too critical in any formal statements, Consonery noted.

In addition, analysts expect Hu will use bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit to strengthen economic and trade ties with developed and emerging countries. He also wouldn't ignore any opportunities to express China's objection to trade protectionism, they say.

"Beijing will take quite a strong line against trade protectionism, primarily due to its strong desire to reinvigorate the flagging export sector amid the economic downturn," said IHS Global Insight analyst Sarah McDowall.

However, China itself has aroused international criticism in recent weeks due to its policy of giving exporters larger tax rebates, and banning government agencies from purchasing imported goods, except where there is no existing substitute, McDowall said.

But Beijing is likely to continue with its current trade practices, she said. China can't afford to retract its preferential quotas and export duties while its economic-stimulus program has spurred a wave of infrastructure projects across the country, which will benefit from cheap access to materials, she said.

A Chinese foreign-ministry official said Hu will hold bilateral meetings with South African President Jacob Zuma and Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa on Wednesday, the opening day of the G8 summit, and will meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday.

South Africa will be a key country for China to secure supplies of resources, such as iron ore, to feed its strong domestic demand, especially after Chinese companies' expansion into Australia's mining sector met setbacks recently.

Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) last month walked away from a US$19.5 billion alliance with Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (ACH) , turning instead to a giant rights issue to pay down its debt.

Consonery said it also "makes sense" for China to discuss with Mexico about bilateral currency swaps, as well as the possibility of using local currencies for trade settlements. Doing so would help foster China's exports and push forward yuan's internationalization as Beijing's long-term goal, he said.

"Certainly China will like to see that to happen," he said, but he added it is unclear if Mexico will welcome such an idea. China has reached currency swap agreements with a number of countries including Argentina.

Any small pickup in exports will greatly help revitalize China's economy, which has been recovering slowly.

China's first-half exports fell 21.7% from a year earlier, Vice Commerce Minister Yi Xiaozhun said Saturday, a slight improvement from the 21.8% decline in the first five months of the year.

But Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who will accompany Hu to the L'Aquila summit, said Tuesday that China's exports are likely to continue to get hurt by the weak external demand in the second half.

-By Victoria Ruan, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610-6588-5848; victoria.ruan@dowjones.com