Trump Boycott Triggers Wave of Top-Level Absences From Johannesburg G20

A United States (US) decision to boycott the Johannesburg G20 summit has been followed by a growing list of leaders who will not attend in person, including the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Russia, and China.

US President Donald Trump has announced that no American government official will attend the meeting next week, saying on social media that he regards the choice of host country as a: “total disgrace” and alleging human rights abuses against Afrikaners. The boycott removes the entire US delegation from the first G20 summit held on African soil.

In the wake of Trump’s withdrawal, Argentina’s President Javier Milei said he would not attend and would instead send Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno to lead his country’s team. Argentine media reports explicitly described the decision as support for Trump’s stance.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum will also be absent from the leaders’ table. South African government officials confirmed that Sheinbaum will not travel to Johannesburg and that a senior Mexican cabinet minister will head the delegation. Mexico remains a full participant in the summit, but its choice of ministerial rather than presidential representation adds to the thinning line up of heads of state.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is likewise not expected in person and Russia will be represented by a high-level diplomat, a decision shaped by the international arrest warrant that would complicate any visit to South Africa.

China has also joined the list of top-level absences. Xi Jinping will instead send Premier Li Qiang to attend the Johannesburg meeting on behalf of China.

Taken together, the US boycott and the non-attendance of Xi, Putin, Milei, and Sheinbaum mean several of the world’s most influential leaders will be missing from the Johannesburg table, even as their countries remain formally represented in the G20 process.