G20 agenda eclipsed as Bessent skips South Africa meeting again
Scott Bessent will skip the Group of 20 again this week, continuing a boycott of South Africa by top U.S. officials begun by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stayed away out of scorn over his hosts' theme for its G20 presidency of "Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.'
South Africa is the first nation from the continent to host the G20. But its ambition to use that to advance issues vital for developing nations is likely to be further sidelined as the club confronts the latest salvo in U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
"The challenge around the G20 is that you just don't know what is going to come out of the White House,' said Sanusha Naidu, senior research fellow at the Pretoria-based Institute for Global Dialogue. "There is an actor in the international system who is playing such a disruptive role for the order of global international governance.'
The preeminent forum for multilateral cooperation has been under assault since Trump returned to the White House, hampering progress on issues including climate change and debt relief that South Africa hoped to promote.
This meeting, held at the Indian Ocean resort of Zimbali near the port city of Durban on the country's southeast coast, faces the same fate.
In addition to Trump's threat of crippling levies on key trading partners from Aug. 1, the U.S. president has taken aim at the BRICS bloc of emerging economies — which includes South Africa — threatening an extra 10% tariff for "anti-American' policies.
He's also singled out Brazil, a member of both BRICS and the G20, promising a 50% tariff on the nation as he criticized its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn the results of an election he lost.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the first BRICS leader to take on Trump after a meeting in Rio de Janeiro last week, saying the American president needed a "greater appreciation of the emergence of various centers of power in the world.'
That came several weeks after he endured Trump berating him in a televised Oval Office meeting over false claims that his government was ignoring a genocide of the nation's white farmers.
Ramaphosa is also still trying to convince Trump to attend a G20 leaders summit in Johannesburg in November, where he is due to hand over the presidency of the group to the U.S. The prospects that Trump would help advance South Africa's G20 priorities looks slim.
"For a lot of the agenda that has been built up over the last four or five years, it's not fertile ground next year,' said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, chief executive officer of the South African Institute of International Affairs, referring to climate finance and sustainability.
Despite Washington's indifference, South Africa is sticking to its guns and will try to salvage what it can from the meeting, which runs all week and will be headlined by finance chiefs and central bank governors on Thursday and Friday.
"Africa's development must remain front and center this year and into the future,' Ronald Lamola, South Africa's international relations minister, told a United Nations conference in Spain this month. "The world cannot stand by and watch as rising debt-service costs crowd out development for a generation.'
One consequence of the U.S. skipping the meetings is that it's pushed some members of the so-called Global South and the U.S.'s traditional allies closer together.
Shortly after Rubio's snub the European Union said it supported South Africa's G20 aims. Two weeks later, the economic bloc, which had been bickering with Pretoria over a range of issues, held its first summit with the nation since 2018.
Trump "will not render the G20 irrelevant,' said Louw Nel, a senior political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa. "Countries are already starting to look beyond the Trump presidency and know these multilateral institutions will outlive this administration.'
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For African leaders, one of most significant outcomes was the upgrade of the overall Africa-China relationship to an 'all weather partnership' and every single Africa-China bilateral relationship to at least a 'strategic partnership,' with several achieving even higher designations. This may sound like diplomatic jargon, but the implications are tangible. The 'strategic' designation in a bilateral partnership means collaboration goes far beyond ad hoc cooperation on individual projects or sectors, and both sides would embed their collaboration within development plans with institutionalized mechanisms to ensure follow-through. Such strategically framed cooperation is built to weather external shocks, from regional instability to global market swings, and encompasses high‑level coordination on peace and security as well as structured consensus‑building on international governance. A review of the outcomes from implementing the 2024 Beijing Action Plan shows that the diplomatic elevation of Africa-China ties is already translating into tangible results. One notable shift is on trade: in a move that goes far beyond the limited impact of last December's pledge to remove tariffs on exports from African Least Developed Countries (LDCs), China has now eliminated all remaining tariffs on goods from 53 African countries with which Beijing has diplomatic ties. This move contrasts sharply with recent U.S. trade measures that have imposed tariffs as high as 50 percent on African exports. On investment, the numbers are equally telling: between the September 2024 Beijing summit and March 2025, new investment from Chinese enterprises in Africa reached 13.38 billion yuan ($1.87 billion), alongside 130 billion yuan in financing and 140 billion yuan in insurance support for African development projects. These shifts confirm that upgraded ties are not merely symbolic – they are shaping resource flows and market access in real time. And yet, here's the key point: the significance of these gains hinges on whether African countries can make them matter. As our data at Development Reimagined shows, upgrades often coincide with summit years or top-leadership visits, but what truly drives elevation is consistent, substantive engagement. Angola is a clear example. After establishing a strategic partnership in 2010 during then-Vice President Xi Jinping's visit, Angola joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, aligning its development strategy with China's global vision. In March 2024, following President João Lourenço's visit to Beijing, the relationship was elevated to a 'comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,' which is a top-tier status that builds on shared long-term strategic goals – sometimes with joint timelines for delivery – and includes targeted commitments in sectors like infrastructure, energy, and development finance, as well as consensus on regional and global governance issues. For 35 years in a row, China's foreign minister has visited Africa on the first overseas trip at the start of the calendar year. The pattern continued in 2025, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi's tour of Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria reinforcing shared priorities in infrastructure, industrialization, and trade. These visits were soon followed by more detailed bilateral agreements – such as the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Congo, and a strategic cooperation agreement on agro-processing and industrial park development with Namibia during the recent Changsha meeting. Crucially, it's not only Africa's largest economies that saw upgrades. Madagascar, for example, had already achieved a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership as early as 2017, a signal of recognition for its long-term cooperation under Belt and Road Initiative and a focus on agricultural innovation. Hybrid rice technology and shared research hubs are not minor add-ons to the relationship – they're the future of climate-smart food sovereignty. Likewise, Rwanda's elevation during last FOCAC has leveraged innovation in modernizing agricultural productivity and promoted exports such as coffee and chili to the Chinese market. In short, China is responsive to proactive African engagement. The new structure of relations reflects demand, not charity. This opens a clear opportunity – but also a challenge. African states must now sharpen their strategies to maximize the new framework. The Beijing Action Plan speaks broadly about shared goals, but implementation depends on country-specific proposals and clarity. If a country wants better trade access, it needs to make the case with data, readiness, and product consistency. If it seeks support for industrial upgrading, it must show how it will create jobs and value, not just import factories. Nigeria offers a clear example of how strategic upgrades can serve as a springboard – but only when matched with a clear national agenda. Although its strategic partnership with China dates back to 2005, the relationship remained largely quiet until 2024. The inauguration of the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee in June – co-chaired by Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Yusuf Tuggar – marked a shift toward more structured engagement. Since then, follow-up has gained momentum, aligning with Nigeria's goal of shifting from a net importer of Chinese goods to a competitive exporter. One key outcome was the China-Nigeria three-year cooperation plan (covering 2024–2026) prioritizing energy, mining, and metallurgy, with a focus on deepening value addition and upgrading Nigeria's industrial base. Another achievement was the renewal of a 15 billion yuan currency swap agreement. Already, the contours of these ambitions are taking shape. Multiple bilateral deals signed during FOCAC promise greater infrastructure investment, from ports and railways to energy corridors. Notably, renewable energy featured prominently. Botswana has launched a Chinese-financed 100MW solar plant, Uganda and Tanzania have advanced major hydropower stations, and wind projects are progressing in Egypt, Mauritania, and Zimbabwe. These early movers reflect how some countries are already leveraging upgraded ties to drive their green industrial agendas. 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As China deepens engagement with other regions – through summits with Latin America, Central Asia, and beyond – Africa must sharpen its own value proposition. African policymakers must ask: what do these upgraded ties mean for us now? More importantly, how do we move from diplomatic words to domestic wins? The tools are there. The action plan is ongoing. The ball, now, is in Africa's court.
