G20 Summit Opens in South Africa Amid US Boycott

South Africa hosts its first G20 summit under a U.S. boycott. Does this showcase South Africa's emerging global influence, or expose fundamental governance failures and growing isolation?

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G20 Summit Opens in South Africa Amid US Boycott

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Above: South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa gives the opening speech as he chairs the G20 Leaders' Summit plenary session at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on Nov. 22, 2025. Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

South Africa's G20 presidency showcases the country's emergence as a continental leader driving meaningful global reform. The nation successfully advanced crucial development priorities including debt sustainability frameworks, critical minerals beneficiation and measures to combat illicit financial flows. South Africa's ambitious agenda of solidarity, equality and sustainability represents the Global South's rightful challenge to Western-dominated institutions that have failed developing nations.

ENCA The Foreign Policy Centre Belfer Center

Government-critical narrative

The G20 summit exposes South Africa's fundamental inability to lead on the global stage amid domestic chaos and international isolation. Trump's justified boycott over racial discrimination policies has stripped the gathering of legitimacy, while widespread protests highlight the government's failures on gender violence, unemployment and basic services. The expensive summit cleanup while citizens lack electricity and water reveals misplaced priorities.

FOX News NPR The New York Times