CAPE TOWN (AP):

The Group of 20 (G20) has sufficient “shock absorbers” to function effectively if the incoming Donald Trump administration promotes an ‘America First’ policy at the expense of international cooperation, South Africa’s leader said on Tuesday as his country took over the bloc’s presidency.

South Africa assumed the rotational leadership of the group of the world’s leading economies on Sunday from Brazil and will hand it over to the United States at the end of 2025.

Those three countries will work together over the next 12 months, as per the G20 protocol.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would elevate the impact of climate change on developing countries during South Africa’s G20 presidency — the first by an African nation. US President-elect Trump has shown his disdain for international cooperation on climate issues.

“We will seek to get sufficient consensus on decisions that need to be taken by the G20,” Ramaphosa said, when asked if the G20 was prepared for a likely Trump America First approach in his second administration, which starts on January 20. “I think there will be sufficient shock absorbers that will be put in place that will enable the G20 to continue to function ... . We are advancing the interests of the people of the world.”

Trump has given an indication that his foreign policy will be combative. He has pledged to impose new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, while he also threatened this weekend 100 per cent tariffs against nations in the BRICS bloc of developing nations, which include Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and others.

Trump wrote on social media site X that those countries should expect to “wave goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy” if they pursue a policy of looking to move away from the US dollar for international trade. BRICS countries have said they want to be less dependent on the dollar, but the group has taken little concrete action and analysts say it’s unfeasible, given the dollar’s dominance.

Ramaphosa said on Tuesday he had reached out to the US president-elect to congratulate him on his election victory and to tempt golf-loving Trump to make a state visit to South Africa to see its “beautiful golf courses”. He said he also hoped Trump would travel for the G20 summit in South Africa in late 2025.

“If he has time, and he is very busy ... President Trump and possibly myself can go and play golf and talk about global matters,” Ramaphosa said.