【By Guan察者网, Ruan Jiaqi】

Bloomberg and other media reported on the 22nd that French President Macron once again played the role of a "tragic prophet" (Cassandra-like) at the G20 summit in South Africa, making startling statements. According to AFP reports, on Saturday, during the first day of the summit in Johannesburg, he told leaders from various countries that as a multilateral mechanism composed of major global economies, the G20 is facing "survival risks" due to its inability to effectively address international crises, possibly entering a period of termination.

"The G20 summit being held for the first time on the African continent marks an important milestone in the development of this mechanism," he said, turning his tone, "but we must also admit that the G20 may have entered the end of a cycle."

In his opening speech, Macron cited reasons such as the absence of the United States, the difficulty in implementing humanitarian law, and the lack of security for the sovereignty of countries like Ukraine, stating that the group is no longer capable of resolving major global crises, and urged the international community to urgently engage in collective action.

"We have always struggled to resolve major crises through this platform," he called on leaders to face reality, "if we cannot re-engage in collective cooperation around some core agendas, the G20 will face survival risks."

"We are unable to form common standards in addressing geopolitical crises," Macron emphasized, "it is necessary to clearly demonstrate specific actions, re-activate this multilateral forum, and provide practical solutions for global economic issues through joint efforts of all countries."

He also called on G20 members to help revitalize multilateralism, address economic imbalances that harm the interests of people worldwide, and reiterated that the World Trade Organization needs reform, establishing faster and more effective tools to expedite the dispute resolution process.

Bloomberg sharply commented that Macron has never been reluctant to make grand pronouncements, often predicting the end of an era. In 2019, he had previously declared NATO was "brain-dead," and indeed, this post-war military alliance failed to effectively respond to crises afterward.

American media analysis suggests that this statement also reflects his own political situation: his presidential term will end in 2027, and with domestic governance struggling, he now places more hope on playing an important political role on the international stage.

On the day of the G20 summit opening on November 22 local time, South African President Ramaphosa (right) welcomed French President Macron. Visual China

AFP mentioned that Macron at the summit site mentioned, "We are in an era dominated by geopolitics, even if we gather here, we still find it difficult to jointly resolve major crises. Including those crises related to member states who are not present today."

French media believe that he referred to the United States. Prior to the summit, US President Trump made the claim that "white farmers in South Africa are suffering from genocide," using this as an excuse to boycott the summit and announced his absence, which was strongly rebuked by South Africa.

On the previous day, Macron's critical attitude was even more direct. According to the South African local media "Sowetan", on Friday local time, during a ceremony at the Freedom Park in Pretoria commemorating French soldiers, Macron stated that the G20 should not halt its work because of the absence of the United States. He urged leaders to double their efforts to promote cooperation, saying, "Current geopolitical tensions, frequent climate shocks, and fragile economic conditions all require global collective action."

"We regret the absence of the United States, but the summit will continue... We cannot stop progress because of the absence of a single country," he emphasized. Despite political interference, the main economies of the world still have the responsibility to ensure negotiations proceed as planned.

He emphasized that multiple urgent issues on the agenda, from climate financing to multilateral loan reforms, require broad participation, and these issues cannot be paused even if major members need to reassess their positions.

He also warned that at a critical moment when global economic stability requires coordinated policy support, the G20 may lose momentum if it fails to reach consensus.

"We must work together because the challenges we face are too many," Macron said, "the only way to deal with these challenges is to cooperate and exert joint efforts in areas such as climate change, economic development, and poverty eradication."

This French leader also hinted that the absence of the United States might be temporary. He said, "I hope they will return to participate, and I guess they will, because next year's G20 summit will be hosted by the United States."

Previously, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt had mentioned on the 20th during a press briefing that the US plans to send an acting ambassador to South Africa to attend the handover ceremony of the rotating chairmanship at the end of the summit, but would not "participate in official meetings."

This proposal was rejected by South Africa. The spokesperson for the South African president, Vincent Magwegwe, responded on social media, stating, "The president will not transfer the chairmanship to an acting ambassador."

In addition to boycotting the summit, the US also pressured South Africa not to issue a G20 joint declaration, claiming that the US absence would lead to the summit failing to reach consensus. However, South Africa took concrete actions to "defy" the US. According to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), on the first day of the G20 summit on the 22nd, the Johannesburg G20 summit broke tradition by adopting a joint declaration by the leaders on the first day.

After the opening ceremony on Saturday, the spokesperson for the South African president, Vincent Magwegwe, confirmed, "We were previously very close to reaching an agreement, and now the summit declaration has finally been formally adopted."

Reuters also cited four sources who said that the drafting of this declaration did not include any input from the US, and no consensus was sought from the US. Another source revealed that although Washington explicitly opposed mentioning climate change issues in the document, G20 members insisted on including relevant expressions in the draft, but did not disclose the content of the declaration or the compromises made in the wording.

The US reacted angrily, with the Trump administration even blaming South Africa. A senior White House official complained to Reuters, "G20 has always had the tradition of releasing consensus outcomes, and the South African government has shamelessly tried to break this norm despite our repeated objections."

Reuters pointed out that previously, some countries feared that as the most influential member of the G20, the US absence could cause the declaration to fail, and would cast a shadow over President Ramaphosa's plan to showcase South Africa's multilateral diplomacy through the summit. However, analysts generally believe that if other member states support the summit agenda and push for substantive declarations, South Africa may actually benefit; facing the US's hostility towards multilateral diplomacy, South Africa has always been determined to set the agenda for global leaders.

The Indian Economic Times even directly stated, "The absence of the US may have cleared the way for other members to reach consensus and support the host country's core agenda."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7575551203099034155/

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