G20 South Africa snubs: Who’s boycotting, who’s coming and who’s leading China?

The upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit is set to proceed without some of the world’s most prominent heads of state.

This landmark gathering – scheduled for 22–23 November 2025 in Johannesburg and the first G20 Heads of State summit hosted on African soil – is already facing significant absences, primarily from the United States Russia and Argentina.

Trump leads minor boycott of G20 in South Africa

Leading the list of notable no-shows is US President Donald Trump, who confirmed he would not be attending the global forum.

Trump justified his non-attendance by citing, without evidence, alleged serious “human rights abuses” in South Africa, including claims that Afrikaners are “being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated”.

Trump declared that no US government official would attend while these alleged abuses continued, although US Vice-President JD Vance had previously been suggested as Washington’s representative.

Following closely behind his close ally Trump is Argentine President Javier Milei, who will also not be travelling to Johannesburg.

Milei’s decision to skip the summit is viewed by Argentine media as a gesture of alignment with Washington, especially following Argentina receiving a significant financial lifeline from the US Treasury.

Social media commentators observed that Milei has “bigger fish to fry” domestically, referring to Argentina’s previously astonishing inflation rate. Instead of the president, Argentina plans to send Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and the government’s G20 “sherpa” Federico Pinedo to the gathering.

Russia Sending Lavrov or Oreshkin but who Represents China and Mexico?

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be staying away from the Johannesburg summit. Putin non-attendance is likely due to the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant looming over him.

Moscow has chosen to send a high-level delegation nonetheless. There’s still some confusion about who will lead Russia’s delegation. Some reports say Maxim Oreshkin, a senior technocrat and deputy chief of staff of the Presidential Executive Office, but according to Sunday Times, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead Moscow in Johannesburg.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo will also not making the trip to the G20 South Africa Summit, Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo was cited as saying. Instead, a Mexican cabinet minister will lead Mexico City’s delegation.

Will Xi Jinping make trip to G20 South Africa Summit?

Looking at the remaining G20 members, uncertainty hangs over China’s attendance at the head-of-state level. President Xi Jinping has curtailed his international travel in recent months, with Premier Li Qiang having already represented China at major summits like BRICS in 2025.

While the presence of China is guaranteed, it remains unclear whether President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Qiang will be representing the nation in Johannesburg, making Xi a notable “maybe” based on recent travel patterns.

G20 Johannesburg Summit 2025: Expected Attendance and Representative