Xi Can Skip the G20 Without Losing Africa. For Trump, It’s Different.

A general view of the G20 logo at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 4, 2025 where the upcoming G20 summit will be hosted. (Photo by Wikus de Wet / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s predictable decision not to attend this Saturday’s G20 summit in Johannesburg is sparking quite a bit of chatter among journalists and other observers that Beijing is somehow dissing South Africa and downgrading the G20 as a whole.

If you see or hear that line, just ignore it. It’s totally uninformed.

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by Eric Olander

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