3 d. ago Beijing woos foreign firms as China seeks bigger role in global shipbuilding supply chain

Beijing is extending an olive branch to overseas companies as it seeks to build a more integrated global supply chain for the shipbuilding industry, in its latest push to project goodwill and support free trade. Gao Dongsheng, chief economist at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said on Tuesday that China was committed to further opening up its shipbuilding sector. Mainland shipyards, which currently have a capacity to build about 65 million deadweight tonnes of large...

Politics

4 d. ago US wipes South Africa’s G20 website clean for 2026 Trump summit

US President Donald Trump on Monday launched the US presidency of the Group of 20 by wiping clean the website of outgoing host South Africa, which he is not inviting to next year’s summit. The G20 website now simply has a picture of Trump in black and white that says “Miami 2026” and “The Best Is Yet to Come”, the title of the song popularised by Frank Sinatra. Trump refused all US attendance at last month’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, denouncing the post-apartheid government’s treatment of the...

Politics

5 d. ago Ramaphosa dismisses Trump’s threat to bar South Africa from 2026 G20 summit

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed on Sunday US President Donald Trump’s threat to exclude Pretoria from next year’s Group of 20 summit, reaffirming South Africa’s status as a founding member of the group. Washington boycotted the G20 meeting held under South Africa’s presidency in Johannesburg on November 22 and 23, with Trump repeating allegations, widely discredited, that the host country’s black-majority government persecutes its white minority. Trump said last Wednesday that...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump says he’s barring South Africa from next year’s G20 summit in Miami

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was barring South Africa from taking part in the Group of 20 summit next year in Miami and will “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country over its treatment of an American government representative at this year’s global meeting. Trump chose not to have a US delegation attend the recent summit hosted by South Africa, saying he did so because white Afrikaners were being violently persecuted. It is a claim that South Africa, which was mired...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump barring South Africa from next year’s G20 summit in Miami

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was barring South Africa from taking part in the Group of 20 summit next year in Miami and will “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country over its treatment of an American government representative at this year’s global meeting. Trump chose not to have a US delegation attend the recent summit hosted by South Africa, saying he did so because white Afrikaners were being violently persecuted. It is a claim that South Africa, which was mired...

Politics

1 week ago US must build on Global South’s G20 momentum, not undermine it

As South Africa hands over the Group of 20 presidency, something more consequential than a routine rotation is taking place. The moment marks the end of an unprecedented cycle: four consecutive presidencies led by major economies of the Global South – Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa. For four years, the G20 was steered by countries whose development priorities, demographic structures and geopolitical positions diverged from those of the Group of Seven. In 2026, the gavel will pass to...

Politics

1 week ago Why next year’s G20 could be make or break for global development

As South Africa hands over the Group of 20 presidency, something more consequential than a routine rotation is taking place. The moment marks the end of an unprecedented cycle: four consecutive presidencies led by major economies of the Global South – Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa. For four years, the G20 was steered by countries whose development priorities, demographic structures and geopolitical positions diverged from those of the Group of Seven. In 2026, the gavel will pass to...

Politics

1 week ago How China Uses Parliamentary Buildings to Build Influence in Africa

How China Uses Parliamentary Buildings to Build Influence in Africa  The China-Global South Project

Politics

1 week ago Starmer met Premier Li Qiang at G20 in South Africa amid Beijing visit rumours

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit last week amid speculation that he could visit Beijing early next year and the country’s controversial embassy in London will be approved. The two leaders are understood to have greeted each other only briefly during a “brush-by” rather than holding formal bilateral talks, after which a readout covering what was discussed would usually be expected from Starmer’s office. China was represented by Premier Li...

Politics

1 week ago South Korea's President Lee meets Chinese Premier, Japan PM at G20 summit

South Korea's President Lee meets Chinese Premier, Japan PM at G20 summit  Reuters

Politics

1 week ago China, allies drive agenda at G20 South Africa summit amid US no

The G20 summit in Johannesburg delivered major wins for African countries on debt, climate and critical minerals processing, but the progress was undercut by an unprecedented US boycott. The United States will host the event next year when it takes over the rotating Group of 20 presidency. But when the summit ended on Sunday, there was no US leader present for the ceremonial handover. With the US a no-show, China and its allies drove the consensus on a Global South agenda that has dominated G20...

Politics

1 week ago G20 South Africa summit sees China, allies drive agenda as US stays away

G20 South Africa summit sees China, allies drive agenda as US stays away  Yahoo

Politics

1 week ago G20 South Africa summit opens under shadow of first US boycott

The G20 summit in Johannesburg opened on Saturday with a firm call from the host nation to safeguard the group’s credibility and role, despite the shadow cast by the first-ever US boycott in the forum’s history. South Africa has, however, secured crucial diplomatic backing from China for the assembly of the world’s wealthiest and leading emerging economies. Members should “not allow anything to diminish the value, stature and impact of the first African G20”, South African President Cyril...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s G20 boycott sums up a year of US attacks on multilateralism

As South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa convenes the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, two things are likely to be on many minds: the empty chair and the spirit of ubuntu. Wikipedia defines the ubuntu philosophy as encompassing “the interdependence of humans on one another and the acknowledgement of one’s responsibility to their fellow humans and the world around them”. For the purposes of South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit, that Zulu term means multilateralism – anathema to US...

Politics

2 w. ago US wants to reverse boycott and join G20 summit, says South African president

The United States government has indicated that it has had a “change of mind” and wants to take part in the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in a reverse of its boycott, the South African president said on Thursday. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the summit host country had received communication from the US at “the eleventh hour” and was now working on the logistics to accommodate the US. US President Donald Trump had announced that his administration would boycott the two-day...

Politics

2 w. ago US is not attending G20, White House says, denying South African leader’s comment

The United States is not taking part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, the White House said on Thursday, denying earlier comments from South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had said Washington wanted to take part. “The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the...

Politics

2 w. ago White House denies reversing G20 boycott, hits out at South African leader

The White House hit out on Thursday at South Africa’s leader for “running his mouth” over the United States’ boycott of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in another diplomatic rift between the US and a country that has been especially targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg that the US had indicated it was changing its mind over its boycott of the G20 leaders summit at the “11th hour” and wanted to take...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration warns South Africa not to issue G20 statement

The US formally warned South Africa against pushing for a joint statement at this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg that the Trump administration is boycotting, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The diplomatic stand-off is particularly awkward given it’s the first time the continent is hosting a G20 and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is passing the baton to US President Donald Trump at the end of this year. Tensions between the two men came to a head at an Oval...

Events

2 w. ago Beijing rejects G20 Japan meeting with Premier Li amid deepening Taiwan row

China continued a diplomatic chill with Japan over the weekend by ruling out a leaders’ meeting at the coming G20 summit in South Africa amid heightened tensions. “I can tell you that Premier Li Qiang does not have a meeting arrangement with Japanese leaders,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said in response to a question at a regular media briefing on Monday. The G20 summit, to be held on November 22 and 23, could potentially set the stage for Li to meet his Japanese...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump says US to boycott G20 in South Africa, cites treatment of white farmers

US President Donald Trump said Friday that no American government officials would be attending the Group of 20 summit this year in South Africa, citing the country’s treatment of white farmers. Trump had already announced he would not attend the annual summit for heads of state from the globe’s leading and emerging economies. US Vice-President J.D. Vance had been scheduled to attend in Trump’s place, but a person familiar with Vance’s plans who was granted anonymity to talk about his schedule...

Politics