South Africa considers improving its relationship with the United States a "priority", President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday after Washington expelled Pretoria's ambassador.

Tensions between the two countries boiled over on Friday when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was "persona non grata."

Rubio linked his post to an article from conservative news outlet Breitbart which wrote that, in an online seminar on Friday, Rasool had described Trump's Make America Great Again movement as "a white supremacist response to growing demographic diversity in the United States."

Rubio called him "a race-baiting politician" who hates President Donald Trump.

Improving relations with US 'a priority'

"We have noted the displeasure that has been expressed by the United States, particularly about the remarks he made," Ramaphosa told journalists, adding he was waiting for a "full report" from Rasool.

"Improving our relationship with the United States of America is a priority for us," Ramaphosa said.

"They are our second largest trading partner after China and we will therefore seek, as we must, to ensure that our relations are on a good footing."

Rasool's expulsion is the latest development in tensions between Washington and Pretoria over several policy disagreements, including South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the war on Gaza.

'Interests of our country'

Rubio refused to travel to South Africa in February for talks among top diplomats from the Group of 20, the world's largest economies, claiming the meeting had an "anti-American" agenda.

South Africa holds the G20 presidency this year.

Ramaphosa said South Africa would seek to engage with the United States via the despatch of envoys from the business community and government.

"This is our responsibility as a government to advance the interests of our country as well as the interests of the people of South Africa," he said.