China backs South Africa's G20 participation after US exclusion in Atlanta
Synopsis
The US has excluded South Africa from the G20 foreign ministers' meeting it is hosting in Atlanta, and China has publicly called that out — backing Pretoria's right to participate. With both countries BRICS members and Washington using forum access as diplomatic leverage, this is a concrete sign of the G20 fracturing along great-power lines.
Key Takeaways
China publicly backed South Africa's G20 participation on 31 October 2026 , after the US excluded Pretoria from the Atlanta foreign ministers' meeting.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called South Africa 'an important member of the G20' at a Beijing press conference.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the exclusion in a State Department article on 4 December 2025 , citing South Africa's G20 presidency as 'an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas.' South Africa rejected the US position in a 26 November 2025 statement, asserting it 'is a member of the G20 in its own name and right.' The State Department has not publicly addressed the exclusion in its announcement of the Atlanta meeting, hosted by Rubio on 30–31 October .
The dispute highlights a growing rift over multilateralism within the G20, with China and South Africa both BRICS members.
China has publicly backed South Africa's continued participation in the G20 after the United States excluded Pretoria from the grouping's foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, deepening a geopolitical fault line as Washington hosts the forum in 2026. The move sets up a direct China-US confrontation over the future shape of multilateral diplomacy.
What China Said
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday, 31 October, according to the ministry's official transcript. 'South Africa is an important member of the G20. China supports South Africa in continuing its participation in G20 activities,' Guo said.
Guo was responding to a question from state broadcaster CCTV, which noted that South Africa, a founding member of the G20, 'was once again not invited' to the Atlanta meeting. The ministry's spokesperson account separately repeated the remarks on X under the heading 'MFA Spokesperson's response to South Africa's exclusion from G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the U.S.'
Why the US Excluded South Africa
The exclusion traces back to a State Department article dated 4 December 2025, in which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote that South Africa's G20 presidency 'was an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas that have nothing to do with economic growth' and that it 'routinely ignored U.S. objections to consensus communiques and statements.'
Rubio stated that President Donald Trump and the United States would not be extending an invitation to the South African government to participate in the G20 during the US presidency. 'When South Africa decides it has made the tough decisions needed to fix its broken system and is ready to rejoin the family of prosperous and free nations, the United States will have a seat for it at our table,' Rubio wrote.
The State Department has not publicly addressed South Africa's absence in its official announcement of the Atlanta meeting, which Rubio is hosting on 30 and 31 October.
South Africa's Position
Pretoria has firmly rejected the US stance. In a statement dated 26 November 2025, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said President Cyril Ramaphosa had 'noted the regrettable statement by President Donald Trump on South Africa's participation in the 2026 G20 meetings.'
'South Africa is a member of the G20 in its own name and right,' the statement said, adding that South Africa 'will continue to participate as a full, active and constructive member of the G20.' Pretoria called on G20 members to reaffirm the forum's operation in the spirit of multilateralism, with all members participating 'on an equal footing in all of its structures.' DIRCO had not issued a statement specifically on the Atlanta meeting as of Friday afternoon US time.
Broader Implications for Global Governance
This is not an isolated dispute. The episode reflects a broader pattern of the US under the Trump administration using forum access as a tool of diplomatic leverage — a departure from the multilateral consensus model that underpinned G20 norms since its founding. Notably, China and South Africa are both BRICS members, and Beijing's vocal support for Pretoria reinforces the emerging G20 split along geopolitical lines.
Guo's remark that 'the G20 plays an important role in strengthening multilateralism, promoting world economic growth, and improving global governance' was a pointed counter-narrative to Washington's approach. As the G20 host, the US holds procedural authority over invitations, but critics argue that selectively excluding a founding member undermines the forum's credibility as a consensus-based institution.
With the Atlanta ministerial under way, the question of whether South Africa's exclusion becomes a formal G20 dispute — or whether other members move to address it in the final communiqué — will be closely watched in the days ahead.
Point of View
And Beijing's swift public rebuttal is calibrated — it costs China little while reinforcing the BRICS-aligned narrative that Washington is weaponising multilateral institutions. The deeper problem is structural: the G20 has no enforcement mechanism for membership rights, meaning the US can exclude Pretoria without formal consequence. If the Atlanta communiqué is silent on the matter, it will signal that the rest of the G20 — including India, the EU, and Japan — chose accommodation over principle. That silence would matter far more than China's statement.
NationPress
31 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the US exclude South Africa from the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta?
The US excluded South Africa following a State Department article by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 4 December 2025, which said South Africa's G20 presidency was 'an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas' and that it 'routinely ignored U.S. objections.' President Donald Trump and Rubio announced they would not extend an invitation to South Africa for the duration of the US G20 presidency.
What did China say about South Africa's exclusion from the G20?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on 31 October that 'South Africa is an important member of the G20' and that 'China supports South Africa in continuing its participation in G20 activities.' The remarks were made at a regular Beijing press conference and repeated on X by the ministry's official spokesperson account.
How has South Africa responded to being excluded from the G20?
South Africa has rejected the US position, with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) stating on 26 November 2025 that the country 'is a member of the G20 in its own name and right' and will 'continue to participate as a full, active and constructive member.' DIRCO had not issued a specific statement on the Atlanta meeting as of Friday afternoon US time.
What is the significance of China backing South Africa on this issue?
Both China and South Africa are BRICS members, and Beijing's public support reinforces an emerging bloc within the G20 that favours consensus-based multilateralism over US-defined participation rules. Analysts argue China's statement is a low-cost way to position itself as a defender of the Global South against unilateral US action.
When and where is the G20 foreign ministers' meeting taking place?
The G20 foreign ministers' meeting is being hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta on 30 and 31 October 2026, as part of the United States' G20 presidency for the year.
