World leaders gathered for the first G20 summit held in South Africa, but the meeting was overshadowed by the United States boycott. President Donald Trump ordered the American absence, alleging that South Africa, a country with a black majority, is persecuting its white minority.
The decision classified the holding of the South African summit as a “disgrace”, leaving the US as the only one of the 19 G20 countries without representation at the event.
Meanwhile, other leaders traveled to Johannesburg in search of business partnerships in the wake of US-imposed tariffs. China has taken advantage of the North American vacuum to expand its influence in Africa, with Premier Li Qiang signing a $1.4 billion deal to renovate railways in Zambia.
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Analysts estimate that the American boycott could accelerate the rapprochement of developing countries with Beijing and diversify leadership in global governance.
South Africa, which is chairing the summit, planned to focus on priority issues for the developing world, such as the impacts of climate change, the debts of poor countries and global inequality.
However, diplomatic tensions worsened when South African officials accused Washington of pressuring the country not to issue a final leaders’ statement due to the American absence. President Cyril Ramaphosa reacted sharply: “We will not be intimidated,” he said, adding that “their absence is their loss.”
(*Source: Associated Press)
Content translated with the help of Artificial Intelligence, reviewed and edited by the Broadcast editorial team, Grupo Estado’s real-time news system.
