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| Fact Check |
| A declaration of independence | |
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When the 20th Group of 20 (G20) Summit opened in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 22, participating parties not only reached unanimous consensus on the core agenda of the meeting, but also made history as the first G20 Summit to adopt a joint declaration on its opening day. The high efficiency of this year's summit has largely been attributed to the United States and its decision not to attend. In the days before the summit began, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa issued a statement announcing that Washington would not send officials to the G20 Summit and opposed any outcome document presented as a G20 consensus without U.S. agreement. However, the adoption of the G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders' Declaration on opening day demonstrated that the other leaders collectively chose to move forward despite the U.S. opposition. The U.S. Government boycotted the summit over what it calls "racial discrimination" by the South African Government against some white South African farmers, using false narrative to influence multilateral activities. The adoption of the leaders' declaration illustrates that multilateralism remains a steadfast commitment of the international community, and also highlights the growing isolation of the United States. The international community was correct to criticize the U.S. Government's absence from the summit. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said this year's summit brought together nations representing three quarters of the world's population, two thirds of global GDP and three quarters of world trade, and that the world can handle economic issues without the United States. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the world is currently undergoing realignment and new connections are being formed, and it had not been a "good decision" for the United States to abstain. The world is currently undergoing profound changes, with escalating geopolitical conflicts, trade protectionism and bloc confrontation posing serious challenges to global governance. Against this backdrop, the G20 Summit, a major international summit involving both developed and developing countries, as well as major economies from both the Global North and South, has faced considerable skepticism regarding its ability to project a unified message. Without the United States present, this year's summit has demonstrated the mainstream international demand for unity and cooperation. The adoption of the leaders' declaration itself is a powerful signal that, despite profound differences, major economies still believe it is necessary and possible to sit down at the same table for dialogue and cooperation. The 122-point declaration adopted at this summit covers topics such as climate action, debt relief and inclusive growth. It calls for greater global attention to the challenges faced by developing countries, such as the financial needs for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, debt relief and green energy transition. This will inject momentum into the global development agenda, particularly by accelerating the growth of developing countries. It also demonstrated a commitment to development, placing the development needs of Global South at the center of the agenda and promoting more inclusive global governance. Moreover, it presented a blueprint for the future, setting a framework for action to address common economic, financial, climate and digital challenges. For these reasons, the summit can also be regarded as a powerful response to the question of whether or not global governance has failed. Although the road ahead is still full of challenges, it preserves hope and impetus for the international community to keep cooperation channels open and jointly address challenges during turbulent times. BR Copyedited by G.P. Wilson Comments to lanxinzhen@cicgamericas.com |
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