Online Reporter
China expressed its support for South Africa’s presidency of the Group of 20 nations, hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he’ll boycott a meeting of foreign ministers from the bloc this month.
Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng held talks with South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday to discuss the two nations’ bilateral relations.
“I also expressed China’s readiness to support South Africa’s G20 Presidency,” Wu said in a post on social media platform X.
South Africa is the first nation on the continent to host the G-20 summit.
President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to use his country’s leadership of the group to promote a more equitable global system, by focusing on issues such as easing the plight of heavily indebted African nations.
In a post on X, Rubio said he won’t visit South Africa in protest at its attempt to use the G-20 to tackle issues such as climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. He also said he was boycotting the event because South Africa was expropriating private property — which hasn’t happened.
G-20 foreign ministers will met in Johannesburg on February 20-21, followed by a gathering of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Cape Town on February 26-27.
China is South Africa’s biggest trading partner, with commerce between the two nations estimated at US$55,2 billion in 2023 — more than double the amount with the US. — Bloomberg
