It seems fair to say that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was surprised by his American. counterpart's response to a land expropriation law.
Since Ramaphosa signed the legislation into law just over two weeks ago, President Donald Trump has cut off U.S. aid to South Africa (with some exceptions) and offered refugee status to the country's relatively privileged African minority.
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The government has denied Trump's claim that land has been confiscated, saying the law is similar to legislation in other countries.
Marco Rubio, Trump's secretary of state, however, has said he will boycott a G20 meeting in Johannesburg, citing the land law and South Africa's emphasis on inequality.
Whatever the reason — and whether Trump's South African-born Elon Musk had anything to do with it — Pretoria has had to try to keep its second-largest trading partner intact. That includes investments by 600 American companies that generate a tenth of the gross domestic product of Africa's most developed economy.
And by driving a wedge between the United States and a ruling party in the so-called Global South, Trump is strengthening Beijing's position. China, South Africa's largest trading partner and a member of the BRICS, quickly expressed support for Ramaphosa's presidency of the G20 after Rubio's resignation.
ALBANY: Ramaphosa says the nation is not afraid of the United States. Source: South African Presidency via Associated Press
Beyond land expropriation, South Africa has been negligent in its relations with the United States. The United States has invited Russian warships to joint military exercises and has accused US ally Israel of genocide. The Johannesburg city council is considering naming the street where the US consulate is located after Leila Khaled, a Palestinian who hijacked a US airliner.
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Trump said he had spoken to President Xi Jinping and that they had a "very good" relationship.
However, if the United States wants to compete with China for control of the world's resources, the alienation of Africa's largest mineral deposit is an odd policy. Shutting down HIV treatment programs and making baseless claims about land confiscation is unlikely to win friends. The uproar over Ramaphosa's signing of the land bill seems like an example of the law of unintended consequences. The US may find Trump's response equally important. - Antony Sguazzin
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