US Absence from G20 Summit, How Does South Africa Respond?

Current Affairs Observation by Yu Fei Video: US Absence from G20 Summit, How Does South Africa Respond? This Is What You Should Read for International News 時事觀察余非視頻: 美國不出席G20峰會，南非如何接招？國際新聞就要讀這些

Monday, US "Sing Tao Chinese Radio" "Current Affairs Observation" December 8, 2025

The content of this episode was prepared to be shared with everyone last week. However, the tragic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong occurred, so we discussed the fire first, and this week we address something that should not be overlooked by the public—South Africa hosting the G20 meeting from which the US was absent. South Africa is a country that should not be underestimated. It still faces many economic and social problems, but its national character is quite admirable.

Regarding the G20 summit held by South Africa in Johannesburg, I watched a video made by a Taiwanese self-media outlet, which was very enlightening. Self-media journalists often have deeper and more insightful perspectives than mainstream media. I will share the link with everyone. Any country hosting a conference with numerous leaders gathered would be very tense. The G20 summit in South Africa took place on November 22–23, 2025. On those two days, roads near the venue were completely blocked after 7 a.m. This meant that those who needed to work on-site and journalists reporting and covering the event had to enter the venue before 7 a.m. As is well known, many major countries attended, including major European nations such as the UK, France, Germany, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Australia, India, Brazil, and others. Their leaders attended in person, while Russia sent the Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration. Among the gathering of stars, US President Trump was absent.

This marked the first time the US comprehensively boycotted a G20 summit. The main reason is widely known—South Africa sued Israel at the UN International Court of Justice. I have discussed South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel in multiple episodes. In the face of Israel, which has committed war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity during the war, the country that has shown the most integrity, courage, and responsibility in the international community is undoubtedly South Africa. It was South Africa that brought Israel before the real International Court of Justice, allowing the issue to be widely communicated to European audiences in their own language and context. To this day, the significant reaction of Europeans to the Gaza war is directly related to South Africa’s efforts. The South African government’s stance is that Black South Africans have previously suffered under apartheid, so they particularly understand and sympathize with the people of Gaza. It is this very act—the lawsuit that offended Trump and led to his absence from the G20 summit—that made me view South Africa in a new light. When reading international current affairs, we cannot simply consume what the media feeds us; we must pay more attention to marginalized countries and news. However, the lawsuit might be seen as an occasional achievement. But it turns out there’s more. Following how South Africa handled the unexpected challenge of the US absence from the G20 truly showcases South Africa’s national character and strength—its soft power. It reflects the wisdom of a group of politicians, particularly those in high-level government positions, and demonstrates South Africa’s diplomatic capabilities.

During, before, and after the summit, South African media paid close attention to the G20 summit and reported on it quite actively. Regarding the US absence, South African media headlines included: "The World Gives the Middle Finger to the US" (a very bold headline) and "South Africa Catches the US Off Guard" (showing South Africa’s confidence). And as evidenced by the facts, the South African summit was executed beautifully, marking a diplomatic victory.

G20 roughly means that these countries rank within the top twenty in the world GDP rankings. However, South Africa’s GDP ranks around the 30s globally. If compared only within Africa, South Africa’s GDP is among the highest on the continent. South Africa’s actual economic scale is not large, but its growth level is good. In the context of a lack of global economic engines, not just South Africa but the entire African continent has become very important. Additionally, while even China, a populous country, is experiencing declining marriage and birth rates, Africa’s total population and birth rates are not declining. According to a 2013 UN report from ten years ago, by 2050, Africa’s working-age population (25–59 years) will reach 1 billion, increasing its share of the global labor force from 12% to nearly 23%, almost a quarter.

Here are some changes in G20 arrangements regarding Africa. The 2023 G20 summit was hosted by India. That year, under India’s chairmanship, the African Union (AU), with 55 member states, was upgraded from an "invited international organization" to a permanent member of the G20, on par with the European Union! Its status in the G20 summit was significantly elevated. Indian Prime Minister Modi regarded this as one of his diplomatic achievements.

After the African Union became a permanent member, the 2024 G20 summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the 2025 summit was held in South Africa. This means the African Union attended the summit while an African country was the host. This was a meeting of special significance, and South Africa’s determination to host the summit well is understandable. And just at this time, the US unusually boycotted it entirely, clearly intending to embarrass South Africa. The whole world was watching how South Africa would respond.

The Trump administration initially did not send anyone to attend, accusing South Africa of genocide. In May this year, Trump invited South African President Ramaphosa to visit the White House but used the occasion to bring up so-called black materials about South Africa, accusing South Africa of committing genocide against white people, attempting to publicly humiliate his own invited guest. General commentary suggests that Ramaphosa successfully defused the crisis without causing embarrassment for himself.

Beyond the US absence, it was even more outrageous that the US demanded other countries refuse to issue a G20 joint declaration, allowing South Africa only to issue a chairman’s statement. The situation was as if, without the US attending, other member states could not reach a consensus, and without the US, there would be no consensus. If Trump’s maneuver succeeded, it would set an unreasonable and very bad precedent. The only one who responded to Trump was Argentine President Milei, who himself was absent from the summit.

Let’s see how South Africa responded. The plot can be described as full of twists and turns. Perhaps because South Africa was strong and firm, neither submissive nor arrogant—for example, not yielding at all in some negotiations—Trump instead showed some retreat. At this point, rumors emerged from somewhere, suggesting that Trump might attend in some form. Unexpectedly, South African President Ramaphosa directly stated that no notification had been received from the US about possible participation in any form. The White House immediately countered, saying the rumors were false. Which side was spreading misinformation? The truth may never be known. As is well known, the next G20 summit will be held in the US. The host country requires a handover ceremony, and the US stated it would only send embassy representatives to attend and only for the conclusion and handover ceremony, not for the actual summit.

South African officials said in interviews that the handover is a ceremony. South Africa insisted that the level of the handover must be reciprocal: if you send a leader, then leaders conduct the handover; if you send a lower-level official, South Africa will send a corresponding official. In other words, if you only send an embassy representative for the handover, don’t expect South Africa to deploy President Ramaphosa to conduct it. In short, South Africa handled the entire matter with great principle and did so beautifully.

Regarding the issuance of the Johannesburg Declaration at the summit, as mentioned earlier, Trump tried every means to prevent South Africa from having a declaration named after its own location. Now we know that, in the end, the summit successfully issued a joint declaration without Trump. South Africa’s strategy was to break tradition by not issuing the declaration at the end but on the first day of the summit. The main idea was to cut the Gordian knot quickly, not giving the US government time to ferment and manipulate the situation. For South Africa to do this, it required the cooperation of other countries to succeed. Clearly, the major countries mentioned earlier that attended the summit were willing to cooperate with the South African government. Without needing to rebel themselves, they played a political prank targeting the US, and the results showed that many countries were willing to participate.

In the end, with the strong support of various countries, the joint declaration was passed with an overwhelming majority. The over-30-page declaration emphasized multilateral cooperation, support for developing countries, and sustainable development. The entire incident reflects how South African President Ramaphosa calmly handled the situation.

At the end of the episode, a summary: The US boycotted the G20 meeting hosted by South Africa because South Africa sued Israel. So what is Israel doing now in Gaza and the region? Israel continues with sporadic bombings and killings. Therefore, in early December, seeing dozens of Palestinian newlyweds holding a collective wedding in the ruins of Khan Younis, Gaza, was deeply moving. As seen in the footage, the venue was surrounded by collapsed buildings. If viewed from a drone aerial shot, the collective wedding was set amid ruins and debris.

As for the US, Trump attended the G7 meeting, which was held in Canada, though he left early. For the APEC meeting, he had no interest and felt no need to attend. Trump’s US follows an anti-multilateralism direction, preferring to act alone. The problem is that he has not withdrawn from other transnational organizations, so this time, he was taught a lesson by South Africa.

時事觀察余非視頻: 美國不出席G20峰會，南非如何接招？國際新聞就要讀這些

星期一, 美國《星島中文電台》「時事觀察」2025年 12月8日

本集節目的內容是上星期已準備跟大家分享的。誰知道香港大埔發生火災悲劇，因而先談火災，到本星期才談不應被大眾忽視的一件事——南非主辦了美國缺席的G20會議。南非是個不宜看輕的國家。它的經濟和社會問題仍然很多，但國格很不錯。
關於南非在約翰內斯堡舉行的G20峰會，我看了一條台灣自媒體拍的視頻, 十分益智。自媒體記者的觸覺比正規大媒體更加深入深刻，我會附連結給大家。任何國家舉辦有眾多領導人聚集的會議都會十分緊張。南非的G20峰會在(2025年）11月22至23日舉行。那兩天會場附近的道路早上7時後便全部封鎖. 即是要在現場做事的，以及要到會場報導及採訪的記者七時前便要已經進入會場。眾所周知，是次出席的大國很多，歐洲的主要國家英法德，以及中國、日本、韓國、土耳其、義大利、澳洲、印度、巴西等，領導人也親自出席，俄羅斯則派出總統辦公廳副主任出席。而在眾星雲集之中，美國總統特朗普缺席.

美國此次是首次全面抵制G20峰會，主要原因人所共知的原因——南非把以色列告到去聯合國國際法庭。我曾用多集節目談南非狀告以色列這事。在犯了戰爭罪行、種族滅絕罪，以及在戰爭中有做反人類罪行的以色列面前，此次國際社會表現最夠格、最有吉士和擔當的，別無他選，一定是南非。就是南非將以色列告到去真正的國際法庭，才令這件事有機會以美歐人的語言和語境，
向歐洲民眾廣傳。直至今日，歐洲人對加沙戰爭反應相當大，也跟南非的努力
直接相關。南非政府的態度是，南非黑人從前都曾受種族隔離之苦，因此他們特別明白和同情加沙人。就是上面這件事、這件足以開罪特朗普從而令他缺席G20峰會的狀告事件，令我對南非另眼相看。讀國際時事，真的不可以只看傳媒餵我們吃的材料，要多留意一些被邊緣化的國家和新聞。不過，狀告南非或可理解為偶然做出來的成績。原來不只的，跟進南非如何應付美國不出席G20這個突如其來的飛鏢，才真正算是見識了南非的國格和實力，也可以說是軟實
力。是一群從政者，而且是位處政府高層的從政者有智慧，整個處理顯示了南非的外交力量。

在召開峰會期間及之前之後, 對G20峰會這大事，南非媒體十分關注，報導相當活躍.關於美國缺席，南非媒體的標題包括：世界向美國豎中指（很大膽的標題）；南非殺美國一個措手不及（呈現南非的自信）。而證之於事實，南非峰會辦得很漂亮，可以說是一次外交勝利。

G20，意思大概是這些國家在世界GDP排行榜內排在前二十名左右。但南非的GDP全球排名三十幾。如果不跟世界比較，只跟非洲比較，南非的GDP位處非洲前列。南非的實質經濟不高，但增長水平不錯。在全球經濟缺乏引掣下, 別說南非了，整個非洲也變得很重要。此外，連中國這個人口大國的結婚和生育率也在下降的今天，非洲的總人口、出生率沒有下降。根據聯合國2013年
、十年前的報告反映，至 2050 年，非洲的勞動適齡人口（25-59 歲）將達到10億，佔全球勞動人口的比例，將從 12% 增加至近 23%，幾乎是四分一。

而以下是G20對非洲在安排上的一些變化。2023年的G20峰會由印度主辦, 就在那一年，有55個成員國的非洲聯盟（African Union）在印度主持的會議下，由「受邀國際組織」升級為G20的常任成員，跟歐盟同級！在G20峰會的地位一下子提高了許多. 當年的主辦方印度莫迪總理, 把它視為外交成績之一。

而非洲聯盟成為常任成員後，2024年一屆的G20峰會在巴西里約熱內盧舉行, 2025年此次則在南非舉行；即是非洲聯盟是在自己非洲國家是主辦方的情況下出席峰會。這是有特殊意義的一次會議，南非有意將峰會辦好的決心可想而知。而就在此時，美國罕有地全面抵制, 明擺著是要落南非面。全世界也在看南非如何接招。

特朗普政府本來是不派任何人出席的，他指控南非種族滅絕。今年5月份，特朗普邀請南非總統拉馬福薩到白宮訪問，卻在白宮舉行的記者會上翻一些所謂南非的黑材料，指控南非對白人進行種族滅絕，想當眾侮辱他自己邀請的客人。一般評論也認為拉馬福薩成功化解了危機，沒為自己帶來尷尬。

而美國缺席之餘，更離譜是要求其他國家也拒絕發表G20的聯合宣言，只准南非發主席聲明。情況猶如美國不出席，其他成員國便不可以達成共識，沒有了美國便不會有共識。如果特朗普操作成功，會開一個不合理、也很壞的先例。而有響應特朗普的是阿根廷總統米蘭，他本人缺席峰會。

以下且看南非如何應對，劇情可說峰迴路轉。可能因為南非夠強勢，不亢不卑，例如在一些討還價當中一點也沒有讓步。特朗普於是反而有點退縮。此時不知何處放風，表示也許特朗普可以用某種形式出席。誰知南非總統拉馬福薩直接了當地說，沒收到美國的通知可能會以某種形式參與。白宮即時回撃，說放風是謠言。究竟哪一方才是造謠者？相信不可能有真相。眾所周知，下一
屆的G20峰會是在美國舉行，主席國要有交接儀式，而美國表示只會派美國大
使館代表出席，而且只會出席峰會的結尾、交棒儀式，不是參與實際的峰會。

南非官方受訪時說，交接是個儀式。南非堅持主持移交的級別必須對等，你來領導人、便領導人交接；你來次一級的，南非便派出相應的官員對接。即是，如果你只派個大使館代表去做交接，別期望南非會出動總統拉馬福薩去進行交接。總而言之，南非把整件事處理得很有原則，做得十分漂亮。

關於峰會發表約翰內斯堡宣言這一筆，剛才提過特朗普千方百計要加以阻止，讓南非沒有一個用自己地方冠名的宣言。而現在就知道，結果峰會成功地在沒有特朗普之下發表了聯合宣言。南非用的策略是打破傳統，不在結束時才發宣言，是在峰會召開的首日便發表峰會宣言。主要是快刀斬亂麻，不讓美國政府有發酵及操作空間。而南非這樣做，要其他國家配合才有望成事，很明顯, 上文提及的、有出席峰會的大國，都樂意跟南非政府配合。在不需要自己揭竿起義之下去玩一次針對美國的政治惡作劇，由結果反映，原來不少國家也樂意參與。

總之最終是在各國力挺之下，以壓倒性的票數通過了聯合宣言。30多頁的宣言強調多邊合作 ，支持發展中國家，以及可持續發展。整件事反映，南非總統拉馬福薩沉著地應付了整件事。

節目結束時做小結：美國是因為南非狀告以色列而不出席由南非主持的G20會議，那以色列在加沙及區內現在又做些甚麼呢？以色列繼續作出零零星星的轟炸和殺戮。因此，12月初，看見加沙汗尤尼斯一個廢墟內舉行幾十對巴勒斯坦新人的集體婚禮，看得人十分感動。由畫面所見，主場四周是倒塌的大樓。如用無人機航拍，集團婚禮的四周盡是頹垣敗瓦。

至於美國，七國集團特朗普有出席。會議在加拿大舉行，不過特朗普早走. 亞太經合組織會議他甚至沒興趣、也覺得沒必要與會。美國特朗普行的是逆多邊主義的路向，喜歡自己單獨搞局。而問題是他並未退出其他跨國組織，於是此次就被南非出手修理了一次。