G20 Tensions: US Says South Africa Ignored Objections and Stalled Presidency Handover

• The White House has responded to South Africa's refusal to hand over the presidency of the Group of 20
• This comes after the United States decided to send a chargé d'affaires to formally receive the G20 presidency from South Africa
• The South African government has announced that the G20 presidency will not be handed over at the closing ceremony

The White House said on Saturday, 22 November 2025, that South Africa was obstructing efforts to finalise the handover of the G20 presidency to the United States.

What did the White House say?

This followed the adoption of a G20 declaration on climate change, which Washington had opposed. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly suggested that President Cyril Ramaphosa had pressed ahead with a G20 statement on climate and other international concerns, even though Washington had repeatedly raised objections. She added that President Donald Trump was anticipating the chance to “re-establish the G20’s credibility” when the United States chairs the forum in 2026.

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South Africa marks US absent, blocks embassy’s bid to attend G20 closing ceremony

This comes after the presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, indicated that the South African government had already informed Washington that its proposed level of representation would not be accepted. Magwenya noted that officials viewed the idea of allowing a junior embassy representative to receive the G20 presidency as a clear breach of protocol, given the significance of the ceremony and the stature of the forum. He added that such an occurrence had no precedent in the history of the G20, and Pretoria was not prepared to allow it to take place for the first time during South Africa’s tenure.

United States marked absent at G20

DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told reporters at the Nasrec Expo Centre that the United States had been officially noted as absent from the G20 Summit. He said the delegation had already been marked as non-participating and that the proceedings would continue with attention on the countries that were in attendance.

According to DIRCO, the government’s focus remains on the broad international representation present in Johannesburg, and officials indicated that the absence of some nations would not interfere with the summit’s agenda.

The US stance was restated by Donald Trump, who made it clear that Washington would not be sending anyone to represent the country at the G20. He linked the decision to his concerns about violence against Afrikaners and allegations of land seizures in South Africa. Trump also emphasised that he was looking forward to the United States hosting the summit in the future. Although he had previously indicated that Vice President JD Vance would attend the gathering, he later reversed that plan.

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Steenhuisen voices support for Ramaphosa after US sends chargé d’affaires to G20

3 More stories about the G20 summit

• Briefly News also reported that the United States of America's protest against attending the G20 Summit is the result of the tensions between the two countries. Trump has accused the South African government of white genocide and seizing white South Africans' farms.
• Agriculture Minister and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has backed President Cyril Ramaphosa.
• An alleged hijacker in Johannesburg who targeted the official G20 vehicle was shot on Friday, 21 November 2025.

Source: Briefly News