South Africa refuses to hand over G20 presidency to 'junior' US envoy, widening diplomatic rift

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: The G20 summit in Johannesburg ended on Sunday, November 23, with an unusually sharp diplomatic confrontation after the host nation, South Africa, refused to hand over the rotating presidency to what it deemed a “junior” American representative.

The United States is scheduled to assume the G20 presidency for 2026, but President Donald Trump boycotted the two-day summit, prompting Washington to send a lower-level diplomatic official instead.

South Africa pushes back on US representation

Pretoria viewed the US move as disrespectful. According to South Africa, Washington’s decision to send only an embassy official amounted to an affront to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It came against the backdrop of the president's accusations that South Africa is allegedly pursuing racist and anti-White policies while persecuting its Afrikaner minority.

Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola defended the pushback, saying, “The United States is a member of the G20, and if they want to be represented, they can still send anyone at the right level.”

He added that for a leaders’ summit, the appropriate level was a head of state, a presidential special envoy, or a minister. Pretoria later clarified that the formal handover could still occur at its foreign ministry headquarters rather than at the summit.

Dispute over last-minute US engagement

The tensions escalated earlier in the week when President Ramaphosa said that the US had reversed its boycott decision and sought to rejoin the summit at the last moment.

The White House disputed that account, stating that American officials would attend only the ceremonial handover of the presidency.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back.

She said that Ramaphosa was “running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States,” sharpening the tone between the two governments.

Unusual summit procedures add to friction

Adding to the discord, South Africa broke with long-standing G20 practice by issuing the leaders’ declaration on the first day of the summit, rather than at its conclusion. The statement was released despite American objections.

Washington has criticized South Africa’s agenda for the bloc, saying that the plan focuses too heavily on climate change and global wealth inequality while sidelining issues it considers priorities.

The dispute also highlights the increasingly complex dynamics within the G20, which has tried to balance the priorities of major Western powers with those of emerging economies.

South Africa, hosting the first G20 summit ever held on the African continent, has repeatedly argued that its agenda reflects the concerns of developing nations, including the need for climate financing, debt relief, and fairer global trade structures.

Analysts claim that the tension with Washington points out how political disagreements can spill over into procedural matters such as representation and handovers.

Diplomats noted that while the US boycott was unusual for a sitting G20 member, the friction was allegedly compounded by Trump’s allegations about South Africa’s treatment of its minority communities.