G20 'African Moment' showcases the power of the global South

The 20th G20 Leaders' Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa on November 22-23, with the theme of "Unity, Equality, and Sustainability".

This is the first time that the G20 summit has been held on the African continent, which has significant historical significance.

Many people from multiple African countries believe that the G20 Johannesburg Summit will directly place the development demands, unique perspectives, and solutions of African countries in the spotlight of the global governance reform process, leaving a distinct "African mark", further enhancing the representation and discourse power of countries in the global South, and consolidating consensus for adhering to multilateralism, building an open world economy, and promoting development cooperation.

The 'African Moment' highlights the changing global landscape

Finally, it's the African moment. "After the African Union (AU) was invited to join the G20 in September 2023, the G20 summit came to the African continent for the first time this year. African people celebrated this good news with the lyrics of the 2010 World Cup theme song" African Moment "in South Africa.

African scholars believe that the G20 has ushered in the "African moment", highlighting profound changes in the international political and economic landscape. The collective rise of countries in the global South, including African countries, is gradually transforming from passive participants in global governance to important drivers, sending out Southern voices and demonstrating Southern power to the world.

Alvin Bottes, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, said that South Africa has hosted nearly 130 G20 related and supporting meetings and events, and strengthened cooperation with the African Union to ensure that global development priorities such as Africa are included in the G20 agenda and amplify Africa's voice in the field of global economic governance.

For this summit, the host country South Africa has put forward four priorities, namely strengthening disaster response capabilities, ensuring sustainable debt for low-income countries, promoting a fair energy transition, and utilizing key mineral resources to promote inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Senegal's news agency president, Momar Dionge, said that the G20 summit being held in Africa for the first time is "timely". Currently, the construction of free trade zones on the African continent is deepening, injecting momentum into accelerating regional integration in Africa. This summit will help Africa transform the achievements of regional integration into international influence and discourse power, and provide a platform for consensus building among countries in the global South.

Peter Kaguanja, Director of the Kenya Africa Policy Research Institute, believes that Africa and other parts of the global South, which were once marginalized on key issues such as international financial system reform and climate change response, are now joining hands to continuously expand their influence, safeguard common interests, and unite to face challenges.

The 'African Perspective' focuses on empowering development forces

Currently, the century long changes are accelerating, the momentum of world economic growth is insufficient, and the global development deficit is widening. African countries are also facing a series of severe challenges closely related to development. People from multiple African countries believe that this summit will promote cooperation and empower Africa's development, while providing an "African perspective" to address global challenges.

South African President Ramaphosa said that this year's G20 summit will be dedicated to promoting the development agenda of countries in the global South, especially African countries. He expressed the hope that this summit will reach a consensus on reforming the international financial system, make political commitments to address the debt vulnerability of low - and middle-income countries, and further promote the implementation of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Management.

This summit is expected to gather broader synergy for promoting African development and further unleash Africa's development potential, "said Lemi Nyonggaisa Muraku, an international scholar at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Agenda items such as reforming the international financial system" will effectively help countries achieve sustainable development goals.

In Muraku's view, China actively strengthens cooperation with African countries in various fields, setting an example of mutual benefit and common development. "This summit will help further promote pragmatic cooperation between Africa, China, and other members of the G20 in the global South, and promote common development.

Multiple countries have expressed that Africa has made beneficial explorations in areas such as green transformation and digital economy in recent years. Relevant experiences have been incorporated into international discussions through the G20 platform, providing new ideas for jointly addressing challenges and achieving more inclusive global development.

David Begumiya, a professor of management at the East African International University in Uganda, believes that Africa has abundant renewable energy resources and is becoming an important participant in the development of clean energy, reflecting the enormous potential of Africa in addressing climate change. This summit can provide more innovative solutions for all parties to jointly tackle risks and challenges.

Joining hands to promote global governance reform

China was the first country to explicitly support the African Union's accession to the G20, helping us achieve a historic breakthrough. ”Yalban Halahi, advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Mauritania, said with deep emotion, "China is the most important and steadfast supporter of helping Africa enhance its participation and voice in global governance

At present, global governance reform is at a critical crossroads, and allowing developing countries, including Africa, to participate equally in major global governance decisions is necessary to achieve fair and effective governance.

Multiple countries have expressed that the G20 originated from international cooperation in response to the global financial crisis and is a multilateral mechanism for all parties to jointly address global issues. This summit will provide valuable opportunities for the global South to promote global governance reform.

Halahi said that China's global governance initiative is in line with the needs of the world and conforms to the will of the people. This initiative aims to build a more just and reasonable global governance system, work together towards a community with a shared future for mankind, and is in line with Africa's pursuit of fairness, inclusiveness, and independent development. It can effectively enhance the representativeness, fairness, and inclusiveness of the global governance system.

Kenyan scholar Kaganja pointed out that multilateralism is currently facing severe challenges, and replacing confrontation with negotiation and unilateral hegemony with multilateral cooperation has become a common voice of the international community. Africa China cooperation plays a positive role in promoting the construction of a more just and reasonable global governance system, and this summit also provides an opportunity for both sides to work together to promote the greater role of the global South in global governance reform

Prior to the summit, some Western powers threatened to boycott the summit and even demanded that the host country South Africa not push for a consensus declaration. South Africa has made it clear that it will not succumb to coercion. Many people from multiple African countries believe that this once again proves the urgency of global governance reform, and South Africa's firm stance reflects the determination of countries in the global South to promote the construction of a more just and reasonable global governance system.

The global governance initiative goes beyond the limitations of Western hegemonic logic and has guiding significance for African and global southern countries to jointly formulate development and governance agendas, "said Meng Dawei, director of the Africa China Studies Center at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He believes that this summit can leave an" African mark "of unity, cooperation, joint response to challenges, and promotion of the improvement of global economic governance in the development process of the G20, and promote all parties to work together to build a just world of common development.