Fractured Multilateralism: The American G20 Exposes China's Isolation and Western Discord

This month, the multilateral agenda was dominated by a G20 ministerial meeting in the United States that brought to light the deep geopolitical fractures now in play, notably European opposition to the presence of the Russian finance minister and China's growing isolation. The event foreshadows the sharp tensions anticipated at the upcoming leaders' summit. In parallel, non-Western blocs are consolidating their ties, as illustrated by the reaffirmation of the strategic alliance between China and Russia on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

On the realignment front, Argentina's rejection of its BRICS+ membership marks a notable pro-Western shift in Latin America, driven by ideological and financial factors. Within the United Nations, the debates reflect both persistent tensions—with new American sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC)—and symbolic changes, such as the adoption of a new world map that more faithfully represents the size of Africa, despite Washington's opposition. Finally, technological diplomacy is intensifying, with calls for a Sino-American AI treaty and a dawning awareness at the G20 of its now-essential character.

The American G20 Reveals Gaping Fractures Ahead of the Leaders' Summit

The G20 finance ministers' meeting, held in Asheville (États-Unis) on 31 August, was the scene of acute diplomatic tensions, exposing the divisions running through the group of the world's twenty largest economies. The presence of the Russian finance minister, Anton Silouanov, invited by the American presidency, provoked a revolt among European ministers. In protest, several of them, along with governors of European central banks, refused to take part in the traditional family photo (L'Express, 01/09; FAZ - Aktuell, 01/09). The Trump administration defended its invitation, and the American Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, even held a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart to discuss the American peace plan for Ukraine, conditioning any future economic aid to Russia on an end to the conflict (L'Express, 01/09).

This diplomatic incident was compounded by signals of China's growing isolation within the forum. A headline in the Corriere della Sera (06/09) referred to a "19 against 1" balance of power, though the article's content does not allow the nature of this disagreement to be substantiated in greater detail. The meeting's atmosphere was also marked by a controversial decision by the American presidency: the Treasury Department refused to accredit several journalists from major media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News (NYT (Bluesky), 30/08).

Beyond the political tensions, the substantive discussions addressed key issues of global governance. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stated during an intervention that artificial intelligence (AI) will be "as essential as electricity", underscoring the urgency for governments to take up the subject (Al Jazeera English, 03/09). Think tanks are furthermore calling on the G20 to take up the regulation of stablecoins and to address the trade-offs between speed, cost and security in cross-border payments—technical yet politically sensitive undertakings (Atlantic Council, 24/08 and 20/08).

Blocs and Counter-Blocs: The SCO Tightens, BRICS+ Faces Argentina's Withdrawal

Alongside the G20's divisions, other multilateral formats saw their internal ties strengthen. The annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Kyrgyzstan (Al Jazeera English, 01/09). On the margins of this summit, the Russian and Chinese presidents affirmed their strategic alliance in the face of a world deemed "unpredictable" (Al Jazeera English, 31/08). President Xi Jinping's tour, which took him from Bishkek for the SCO summit through to Egypt, confirms China's determination to consolidate its partnerships in Central Asia and the Middle East (Al Jazeera English, 26/08).

Conversely, the BRICS+ group faces a major reconfiguration with the confirmation of Argentina's rejection of its membership. An analysis by OpenAlex (04/09) interprets President Javier Milei's decision not only as the product of financial constraints tied to the country's debt to Western institutions, but also as a cultural battle and a pro-Western ideological alignment, breaking with previous administrations. This strategy aims at a rapprochement with the United States and Israel, and accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the meantime, the bloc's internal dynamics continue to evolve: a study of India's foreign direct investment (FDI) into other BRICS+ members between 2007 and 2024 shows a strategic, resource-driven logic, at the expense of purely economic factors such as market size. Saudi Arabia, Russia and South Africa thus captured roughly two-thirds of the cumulative $20.3 billion invested by India (OpenAlex, 17/08).

Regional Bodies as Echo Chambers for Crises and Ambitions

Several regional organisations were mobilised to respond to governance crises. The Organization of American States (OAS) announced the holding of an emergency meeting to debate the plan by the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega to bar opponents from standing in elections. The Argentine ambassador to the OAS described the situation as urgent (Buenos Aires Times, 19/08). In Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continues to structure its institutional ecosystem. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is asserting itself as the key regional actor on these matters (Korea Herald, 10/08), while work is under way to modernise mutual legal assistance on digital financial crime, in order to adapt it to the Web3 era (OpenAlex, 20/08).

On the trade front, a negative signal was sent regarding the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. The EU halted imports of animal products from Brazil, demanding compliance with its standards on antibiotic use—a decision perceived as a setback for the trade negotiations (FAZ - Aktuell, 01/09).

The UN, Between Tensions Over International Justice and Symbolic Changes

The UN remains a central arena where geopolitical tensions and aspirations for a new representation of the world are expressed. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his "grave concern" on two occasions: first over the resumption of exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran (ONU Info, 02/09), and then following Washington's imposition of new sanctions against the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane. These sanctions illustrate the recurring tensions between the United States and multilateral judicial institutions (ONU Info, 19/08). A recent analysis further recalls how the use of the veto by permanent members of the Security Council, between 2023 and 2025, obstructed resolutions on the conflict in Gaza, prolonging the crisis and calling into question the Council's legitimacy (OpenAlex, 19/08).

In a more symbolic but politically significant register, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of adopting a new world map (the Equal Earth projection) that more faithfully represents the actual size of the continents, notably Africa. Proposed by Togo and backed by the 55 states of the African Union, this resolution aims to correct the distortions inherited from the Mercator projection. Notably, the United States voted against, while several of its allies abstained (Premium Times Nigeria, 04/09).

To Watch

• Trump-Xi Meeting: Former senior American officials (Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson Jr.) are calling on the American and Chinese presidents to negotiate an "AI cooperation treaty" at their meeting scheduled for this month (@CFR_org, 03/09).
• Crisis in Nicaragua: The emergency meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on the draft electoral law in Nicaragua will be a test of the organisation's ability to act on questions of democracy in the region (Buenos Aires Times, 19/08).
• Busan's Bid: The ruling party in South Korea has formed a special committee to support Busan's bid to host the United Nations Ocean Conference in 2028, an event deemed strategic for the country (Korea Herald, 19/08).

Photo: Eric Prouzet / Unsplash