{"id":101900,"date":"2025-11-01T19:54:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T17:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=101900"},"modified":"2025-11-01T19:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T17:56:37","slug":"asri-report-us-china-trade-war-g20-tensions-and-johannesburg-politics-take-centre-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/asri-report-us-china-trade-war-g20-tensions-and-johannesburg-politics-take-centre-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"ASRI Report: US-China Trade War, G20 Tensions, and Johannesburg Politics Take Centre Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n6-minute read | 01 November 2025 | 08:00 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Muhammed Cajee unpacks the US-China trade war, G20 summit challenges, and Johannesburg\u2019s political dynamics this week.<\/p><\/div>\n

In a significant development on the global trade front, China has secured a concession from the United States, halving the so-called fentanyl tariff from 20% to 10%. The agreement, reached during a face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in South Korea, links tariff relief to Beijing\u2019s commitment to tighten controls on precursor chemicals used in the lethal fentanyl trade.<\/p>\n

According to trade analyst Muhammed Cajee, this move reflects China\u2019s growing leverage in global trade negotiations. \u201cChina is engaging on critical security and health issues like fentanyl, but on its own terms and without bending to unilateral US pressure,\u201d Cajee explained during this week\u2019s ASRI Report.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The ongoing US-China trade war has major implications for the upcoming G20 government summit in Johannesburg on 21 November. Cajee highlighted that the conflict undermines the very foundations of the G20, a forum that represents 80% of global GDP and is designed to facilitate economic coordination. \u201cIf the two largest economies are in an open trade war, consensus becomes nearly impossible,\u201d he said, noting that tariffs, export bans, and technology restrictions hinder cooperation and disrupt global supply chains.<\/p>\n

Cajee further emphasised that the ripple effects of the trade war are already visible worldwide. Inflation, slowed economic recovery, and strained supply chains all challenge the G20\u2019s objectives of coordinating global growth, tax policy, and climate initiatives. In this context, alternative multilateral institutions like BRICS are gaining prominence, with China expanding trade access to Africa, historically a domain dominated by Western free-trade policies.<\/p>\n

The trade agreement also signals a new precedent in international policy. \u201cTariffs are no longer just about trade imbalances, they are tools of strategic leverage linked to issues such as national security, public health, and labor policies,\u201d Cajee explained. The US-China dynamics, particularly over access to rare earth metals critical to US industries, underscore a recalibration of the global order, with China emerging not only as an economic powerhouse but also as a political force.<\/p>\n

Turning to local politics, the race for Johannesburg\u2019s mayoral seat is heating up. Following Helen Zille\u2019s announcement as a mayoral candidate, Herman Mashaba, former Johannesburg mayor and current leader of Action SA, strongly opposed her candidacy. \u201cZille does not have black people\u2019s interest at heart,\u201d Mashaba claimed, citing what he described as the DA\u2019s failures in township service delivery and her condescending interactions with Black leaders.<\/p>\n

Cajee observed that Mashaba\u2019s opposition could anchor Action SA\u2019s campaign strategy, focusing on racial implications, service delivery concerns, and respect for Johannesburg\u2019s majority population. \u201cThe election campaign for Joburg is effectively underway with Mashaba setting the tone against the DA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As both global trade tensions and local political contests escalate, South Africa\u2019s role as host of the G20 summit positions it at a critical intersection of diplomacy and governance. Analysts suggest that middle powers like South Africa and Brazil could play a key mediating role between major powers, though outcomes may be more limited than in previous summits.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s ASRI report underscores the intertwining of international and local politics, with trade wars influencing multilateral cooperation and local elections reflecting broader societal tensions.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full ASRI Report<\/em> <\/a>on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Muhammed Cajee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 6-minute read | 01 November 2025 | 08:00 CAT In a significant development on the global trade front, China has secured a concession from the United States, halving the so-called fentanyl tariff from 20% to 10%. The agreement, reached during a face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ASRI-Report.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qvy","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 00:39:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}