South Africa Says Will Hand G20 Presidency To 'Empty Chair' After US Skips Summit

South Africa will symbolically hand over the G20 presidency to an “empty chair” next week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday, after the United States confirmed it would not send any officials to the summit

in Johannesburg.

Ramaphosa, speaking during a clean-up drive in Soweto ahead of the meeting, said the gesture reflected Washington’s absence but emphasised that Pretoria still sought to stabilise relations with one of its most important trading partners.

The United States pulled out of the November 22–23 summit after President Donald Trump accused South Africa of “human rights abuses,” repeating widely debunked claims that white South Africans are being “slaughtered” or forcibly removed from their land.

Trump has also said that US refugee policy this year would prioritise Afrikaners, who are largely descended from Dutch settlers.

Responding to questions from reporters, Ramaphosa said he had once hoped to avoid handing over the presidency to an empty chair. “But the empty chair will be there,” he remarked, adding that he intended to speak with Trump after the summit to address the tension.

South African officials have repeatedly dismissed the US President’s assertions as baseless, stressing that no racial group faces systematic discrimination in the country.

Despite the diplomatic strain, Ramaphosa underlined that it was vital to maintain strong commercial links with the US, one of South Africa’s largest export destinations. “We export products to that country that in the end don’t end up in the White House. They end up in the hands of consumers in the United States,” he said.

The president also warned against calls to reduce engagement with Washington, saying diplomacy sometimes required dialogue with difficult partners. “There could well be a view that we should not engage with the United States. (But) sometimes you have to talk to people who may not be very friendly … to advance the interests of your own people,” he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)