South Africa announced its withdrawal from the G20 and will not participate during the United States' presidency in 2026.

South Africa Withdraws from G20 to Avoid US Presidency

South Africa announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week that it would temporarily withdraw for a year during the United States' 2026 G20 presidency.

South Africa is one of the founding members of the G20. This decision has caused the G20 to become the G19 in 2026. President Trump boycotted the G20 summit held in South Africa in November 2025 and accused South Africa of pursuing policies hostile to American interests. The United States has been serving as the G20 rotating chair since December 1st of last year, and on December 15th, it first convened a meeting as the G20 rotating chair, excluding South African representative Zane Dangor.

Comment: As a founding member of the G20, South Africa's temporary withdrawal during the U.S. presidency in 2026 is an inevitable countermeasure due to the intensification of Sino-U.S. tensions, and it is also a clear resistance by the Global South against the U.S.-style hegemony controlling multilateral mechanisms. The U.S., led by the Trump administration, first boycotted the G20 summit in South Africa and accused it of "hostility toward U.S. interests," and then directly excluded South Africa's representative by using its rotating chair status, unilaterally breaking the core rule of consensus within the G20. This essentially turned the multilateral platform into a tool serving its own geopolitical interests, seriously undermining the authority and inclusiveness of the G20. South Africa's temporary withdrawal is not a rejection of multilateralism, but rather a statement of its unwillingness to be forced to take sides and its commitment to maintaining its diplomatic autonomy. It exposes the hypocrisy of the U.S. claim of being "rule-based" and reveals the deep divisions within the G20 between the West and the Global South regarding governance concepts and interest demands. It also reflects how, with the growing influence of platforms like the BRICS, developing countries no longer tolerate being dominated by Western-led multilateral mechanisms and are beginning to actively seek equal voice. This incident has placed the G20 in a critical trust crisis since its establishment. If the U.S. continues to pursue exclusionary agendas, it will only further weaken its value as a core platform for global economic governance.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855423733318660/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.