The US boycotted the event; China, Russia, Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia will send representatives
The (Group of 20) summit begins on Saturday (22.Nov.2025) in Johannesburg (South Africa). The event, which runs until Sunday (Nov 23), will be empty this year, with 5 countries sending representatives and without the participation of the United States.
The leaders will discuss sustainable development, energy transition, health, agriculture, combating corruption, artificial intelligence and the use of critical minerals, a priority established by the South Africans for their presidency of the group.
The international economic cooperation forum represents 85% of the world’s GDP and is made up of the 19 largest economies on the planet and 2 economic blocs ( and ). It is the first time that a country on the African continent has hosted the conference. This year’s theme is: “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”.
(Republican Party), president of the United States, declared on November 7 that no official from the country will attend the G20 summit. He accuses South Africa of persecuting descendants of European settlers and violating human rights. The US government would be represented by the vice president, but the trip was cancelled.
The White House opposes the G20 agenda, which consists of relieving the debt of developing countries, combating economic inequalities and financing adaptation to climate change.
The South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs classified the decision as “regrettable” and denied Trump’s accusations. The United States will be the next country to host the G20 meeting, in 2026. With the absence of North American authorities, the issuance of a Final Declaration on the results of the discussions could be compromised.
For Lígia Costa, professor at the (São Paulo School of Business Administration) at (Fundação Getulio Vargas), “the chosen theme brings an idea that it would be a moment of affirmation of the Global South” and the absence of the USA “calls this moment of affirmation into question, because reduces the G20’s ability to produce more meaningful results”.
Costa states that absences can make it difficult to advance discussions and “setting a more objective and more practical agenda, with greater opportunities for all countries”. O boycott of the USA highlights a “real shift in global power architecture”in which countriess “are shifting their strategic decisions to bilateral negotiations, controlled by the parties and much less transparent to the global community”, according to her.
The president of South Africa, (African National Congress, center-left), stated that the absence of the USA is “their loss” and that the boycott will not prevent the taking of “fundamental decisions”.
In addition to Trump, the President of China, Xi Jinping (Communist Party of China, left), announced that he will not be present at the G20 meeting and will be represented by prime minister Li Qiang. The absence of the heads of state of the two largest world powers puts the mission of the G20 at risk.
The presidents of Russia, Argentina and Mexico will also not be present at the meeting. The (independent) Russian cannot attend the G20 because he has a arrest warrant issued by the (International Criminal Court), of which South Africa is a signatory. Putin is accused of leading the kidnapping of Ukrainian children to Russia after the start of the war. He will be represented by , deputy head of the Presidency’s Office.
The Argentine (La Libertad Avanza, direita) will be represented by Pablo Quirino, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Casa Rosada did not specify the reason for the absence, but Milei is known for his diplomatic alignment with Trump, who is boycotting the event. The president of Mexico, (Morena, left), announced that she will not be present at the event, but will send a senior minister.
Costa says that Milei has a “domestic agenda that does not fit into the Global South and wants to be more aligned with the North American agenda”. For the professor, both Argentina and Mexico have “domestic agendas that don’t necessarily fit into the G20″.
Saudi Arabia will be represented by the prince, who also chairs the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance. The country is usually represented internationally by the crown prince and prime minister, .
Despite the absences, the majority of G20 authorities confirmed their presence at the event. The president (PT) at the forum and has scheduled bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of India, (Indian People’s Party, right), and with Ramaphosa, in the context of the forum (India-Brazil-South Africa). The last G20 summit in 2024 in Rio de Janeiro.
This report was produced by the journalism intern under the supervision of the editor.
