China Issues Forceful Defense of South Africa’s Membership in G20

TOPSHOT - (From L to R): Deputy Chief of Staff of Russia's Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Indonesia's Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, China’s Premier Li Qiang, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union Joao Lourenco, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Argentinian Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno pose for a family picture during the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya / POOL / AFP)

The Chinese government issued a forceful endorsement of South Africa’s membership in the G20, a move that will likely thwart the U.S. efforts to exclude the group’s only African member state from next year’s summit in Miami.

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by Eric Olander

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