G20 leaders ended their summit in South Africa on Sunday with a flourish of support for multilateralism — even as the gathering itself underscored how fractured the global system has become. With the United States boycotting the meeting and geopolitical rivalries sharpening, the group wrestled with the question of whether it can still hold the center in a splintering world.
“Too many countries are retreating into geopolitical blocs or the battlegrounds of protectionism,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We are not experiencing a transition, but a rupture.” His warning set the tone for a summit defined by unease rather than unity.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, closing the meeting, said the summit convened “at a crucial time,” as demands for progress on global challenges grow louder. He insisted the leaders’ joint declaration — agreed to early in the proceedings — reaffirmed a renewed commitment to cooperation, even if the debates behind closed doors suggested how difficult that remains.
Dozens of leaders from Europe, China, India, Japan, Brazil, Turkey and Australia attended the gathering, the first G20 summit held on African soil. Their statement captured the uncertainty hanging over the group, citing “rising geopolitical and geo-economic competition, heightened conflicts, deepening inequality and increasing fragmentation.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking candidly on Saturday, warned that “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,” arguing that the forum should narrow its focus to strategic economic issues if it hopes to remain effective.
The absence of the United States loomed large. President Donald Trump declined to attend, with his administration dismissing South Africa’s agenda on trade and climate as incompatible with Washington’s priorities. U.S. officials further inflamed tensions with unfounded claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa — remarks sharply at odds with the forum’s tone. Trump is expected to host next year’s summit at his Florida golf club.
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Despite the geopolitical strains, several leaders — including Carney, Ramaphosa and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — argued that emerging economies and the wider Global South are assuming a more influential role in shaping the G20’s future. “If anyone thought they could weaken multilateralism,” Lula said, “events here show it is more alive than ever.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struck a reflective note: “You can see the world reorganising itself,” he said. “New connections are being formed.”
