China on Friday voiced support for South Africa to continue participating in G20 meetings, as the United States prepares to host foreign ministers of the world’s 20 largest economies.
“The G20 plays an important role in strengthening multilateralism, promoting world economic growth and improving global governance,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
“It is a major platform for international economic cooperation, and South Africa is an important member of the G20. China supports South Africa in continuing its participation in G20-related activities,” Guo said.
He was responding to questions about the reported exclusion of South Africa from the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, which begins on Friday in Atlanta, Georgia.
Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had supported South Africa’s participation in the meeting.
US excludes South Africa from summit
In November 2025, US President Donald Trump said South Africa would not be invited to the G20 summit scheduled for November 2026 in Miami, Florida.
Trump had also skipped the leaders’ summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg in 2025.
At the time, the White House said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had pushed to issue a G20 leaders' declaration addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges "despite consistent and robust US objections."
On Monday, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, said the government “is no longer troubled” by its exclusion from the Miami summit.
South Africa had “moved on and was already talking” to next year’s G20 host, the UK, Meyer said, according to the Daily Maverick.
He added that South Africa would attend the B20 summit in Washington, DC, next month.
