American power is shaping negotiations to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, leaving other major actors like the European Union on the sidelines. But the G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg offered a glimpse of a world without Washington’s leadership.
A shifting centre of gravity
As Harry McGee reports from Johannesburg Donald Trump’s boycott cast a shadow over the first G20 summit to be held in Africa. But the absence of the United States failed to derail the event or to stop the other participants from affirming a common agenda at odds with Trump’s.
“This year’s G20 summit brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of the world’s trade, and that’s without the United States formally attending,” Canadian prime minister Mark Carney told reporters on Sunday.
“It’s a reminder that the centre of gravity in the global economy is shifting.”
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A joint declaration adopted at the start of the meeting committed those who participated, including China, Russia, India and the EU, to more action to combat climate change, help for low-income countries to reduce their debt and fairer taxation of “ultra-high-net-worth individuals”. The US, which opposes all of these positions, warned the summit against adopting a declaration in its absence.
The leaders’ statement also included a commitment to the United Nations Charter’s prohibition of the use of force to seek territorial acquisition and to respect for human rights, both of which are breached by Russia in Ukraine. And as the incoming presidency of the G20 the US will be able to ignore those elements of the declaration it dislikes.
China’s introduction this year of export controls on rare earths essential for advanced manufacturing helped to make critical minerals a central issue in Johannesburg. China and the US are negotiating a deal that would ease the flow of rare earths and European manufacturers are also pressing Beijing to ensure that the supply is reliable and not subject to disruption by geopolitical tensions.
Most of the world’s critical minerals are mined in the Global South but developing countries are no longer content to act simply as suppliers of raw materials. They want China, the US and the EU to provide the investment that would allow the minerals to be refined locally.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s invitation to take part in the G20 summit was unusual and significant, reflecting South Africa’s acknowledgment of Ireland’s record of support for economic development in Africa and its solidarity with the anti-apartheid movement in the past and the Palestinian people today. It is a useful reminder that in an increasingly multipolar world, Ireland’s distinctive foreign policy outlook not only reflects the State’s values but can also advance its interests.
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