South Africa's G20 presidency was meant to be an opportunity to get rich, powerful nations to pay attention to poorer countries' concerns such as burgeoning inequality, crippling sovereign debt and a lack of progress in the fight against climate change.

The so-called land question has been a decades-long dilemma for South Africa. A new law seeks to right some of the wrongs of apartheid but has prompted claims from critics that it discriminates against White farmers.

Trump and his allies have targeted South Africa, promoting the false narrative that white people are being mistreated by the nation’s post-apartheid government.