South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared on Friday that the handover of the G20 presidency to the United States next week will be conducted as a symbolic gesture to an “empty chair,” following the announcement that no US government official will attend the summit in Johannesburg.
The diplomatic snub stems from US President Donald Trump’s controversial claims of human rights abuses, specifically citing unsubstantiated assertions about the “slaughter” and persecution of white South African citizens, primarily Afrikaners.
The Empty Chair Controversy
The US President confirmed last week that no officials, including the Vice President, would attend the November 22-23 summit. Trump has repeatedly cited widely debunked claims of targeted violence against Afrikaners—the ethnic group descended mainly from Dutch settlers—as justification for the boycott. Furthermore, President Trump has stated that the focus of US refugee admissions this year will be directed toward this group, which constitutes the majority of the country’s white population.
Responding to questions from reporters during a G20 clean-up event in Soweto, President Ramaphosa acknowledged the diplomatic crisis: “I have said in the past, I don’t want to hand over to an empty chair, but the empty chair will be there, (I will) probably symbolically hand over to that empty chair and then talk to President Trump…”
Defending Credibility and Trade
South African officials have expressed mounting frustration with the US administration’s claims, emphatically denying any form of state-sanctioned racial discrimination against the white minority in the Black-majority nation.
The South African Foreign Ministry called the US decision “regrettable,” stating that the claims of persecution “are not substantiated by fact.”
Despite the escalating political friction, Ramaphosa stressed that South Africa’s primary objective remains the preservation of its crucial economic relationship with the US, one of its largest trading partners.
Bilateral Trade Value: In 2024, the total trade in goods and services between the two nations amounted to approximately $26.3 billion.
Trade Imbalance: The trade relationship holds a deficit for the US, with South Africa exporting an estimated $16.9 billion in goods and services to the US, compared to $9.37 billion in US exports to South Africa.
Key Sectors: South Africa’s exports to the US are heavily focused on high-value materials like platinum, gold, and industrial supplies, with South African automotive components also being significant beneficiaries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Ramaphosa highlighted the need for pragmatism over principle: “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… sometimes you have to talk to people who may not be very friendly… to advance the interests of your own people.”
The diplomatic boycott underscores the deep ideological rift between the two nations, which have clashed on issues ranging from South Africa’s land reform policies to its foreign policy stances on global conflicts.
Source:Africa Publicity
