Boycotts steal thunder from Africa’s key moment

• G20 Summit boycott especially by U.S. President Donald Trump and geopolitical tensions continue to overshadow South Africa’s historic year at the helm of this world forum.
• China has confirmed Premier Li Qiang, not President Xi Jinping, will be leading Beijing delegation for the Saturday and Sunday forum in Johannesburg.
• Pretoria hopeful that outcomes of the South African summit will be ambitious and leave a lasting legacy for the cause of the African continent and the Global South beyond South Africa’s historic G20 presidency.

While piling debt, spiraling inequality, and the need for funds to check climate degradation dominate the agenda at the G20 Summit that is underway in Johannesburg, boycotts especially by U.S. President Donald Trump and geopolitical tensions continue to overshadow South Africa’s historic year at the helm of this world forum.

While briefing the press earlier this week on the country’s readiness for Saturday’s summit, South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa is at the ready to host global leaders for the historic meeting on African soil.

“We are ready to hand over to the U.S. here in Johannesburg,” Lamola stated, adding that if U.S. representatives keep their word not to show up, Pretoria will proceed with issuing the summit outcome and Leaders’ Declaration. “If they want a ceremonial handover, they must come.”

“It is our firm belief that the outcomes of the South African summit will be ambitious and leave a lasting legacy for the cause of the African continent and the Global South beyond South Africa’s historic G20 presidency,” he said.

The two day 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit will be underway at the Nasrec Expo Center South Africa’s largest city and economic hub, Johannesburg, from Saturday to Sunday. The G20 member countries represent 85 per cent of Gross Domestic Product internationally, consiting over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the population.

At the moment, the G20 member economies are: France, Germany, Canada, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, and United States and two regional bodies, European Union and the African Union.

U.S. G20 Summit boycott not new

The decision by US President Donald Trump to snub the G20 Summit currently underway in South Africa continues to draw interests from around the world. In the latest twist, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Supra Mahumapelo, said it is not the first time that some of the G20 member states are absent for various reasons.

Of key importance is that the summit continues, despite any absences, and continues to engage on the items on the agenda and make decisions to achieve desired and meaningful impact for individual nations and their citizens, the Chairperson said.

Divergence of views and contradictions among G20 member states is an unavoidable reality and the only course to adopt is through persuasion and discourse to reach common ground, thereby uniting member nations. This enables G20 nations to reach a position that allows for cooperation rather than differences – thereby given meaning to the initial creation of the G20 platform for the purposes of development of member nations.

“As the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, I commend South Africa and Africa for hosting a successful G20 Summit,” said Mr Mahumapelo.

South Africa continued on a path of constructive engagement with the United States to attend the G20 Summit and will continue with that engagement, notwithstanding of the absence of the US from the summit.

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G20 Summit comes for the first time on African soil

South Africa and the rest of the African continent celebrate the hosting of the G20 Summit for the first time on African soil. “This day will remain memorable in the minds of South Africans and take its special glory in the annals of the South African history,” emphasized Mr Mahumapelo.

Days after the US said it will not be attending the Summit, which would have seen it assume the leadership of the next meeting in America, authorities in Beijing has pulled out, leaving South Africa in a state of limbo.

About a week ago, President Trump directed that none of his administration’s officials would participate in the G20 summit, alleging that South Africa was deeply engaged in “human rights abuses” targeting the white minorities.

“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump stated on social media platform, Truth Social, adding that, “Afrikaners (South Africa’s people who have Dutch ancestry, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”

South Africa denied these claims explaining that “the characterization of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical.”

Even before the dust could settle on the South Africa-U.S. extreme positions, authorities in China said President Xi Jinping will not be attending G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Instead, according to Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Premier Li Qiang is the one who will be attending the G20 meeting at the invitation of the South African government.

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