South Africa is leading the G20 this year and hoped to use this opportunity to push rich countries to focus on the struggles of poorer nations, like increasing inequality, heavy debt, and slow progress in fighting climate change. However, the most powerful G20 member, the United States, is not supporting South Africa’s goals.
According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called South Africa’s plans “very bad” on February 6 and said he would not attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Johannesburg next week.
Reuters also reported that President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance against South Africa by cutting U.S. financial aid. He disagrees with South Africa’s land redistribution policy and is unhappy that the country took Israel to court over genocide accusations.
Ongama Mtimka, an expert at Nelson Mandela University, told Reuters that the U.S. seems to be working to make sure South Africa does not have a successful G20 presidency.
This is a big deal because the G20 was created after the 2008 financial crisis to include more countries in global economic discussions. Now, with the U.S. resisting South Africa’s efforts, some experts are questioning the future of the G20.
David Monyae from the University of Johannesburg told Reuters that without the U.S., the G20 may start to lose importance. He warned that while the G20 is not collapsing yet, things seem to be heading in that direction.
Despite the U.S. opposition, China and Russia are standing with South Africa. Reuters reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa still wants to focus on helping poorer nations get fair financial deals and fight climate change. South Africa spends more on paying its debts than on healthcare, and this is a problem many developing countries face.
China’s foreign ministry told Reuters that it strongly supports South Africa’s leadership of the G20. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov will attend the upcoming G20 meetings in Johannesburg, while the U.S. will be absent. Russia also confirmed that developing countries are already reaching out to discuss financial matters.
Another layer of tension is that some G20 members, like China, Russia, and South Africa, are also part of BRICS, a group created to challenge U.S. dominance in global politics.
Reuters noted that last month, Trump warned BRICS members not to replace the U.S. dollar as the main global currency and threatened 100% tariffs.
South Africa will lead the G20 until December, when the U.S. takes over. The final G20 summit under South Africa’s leadership is planned for November.
But with the U.S. opposing South Africa’s plans and China stepping in to fill the gap, Reuters suggests that power dynamics in the G20 may be shifting.
Credit : Reuters