Biden links ‘xenophobia’ to economic struggles in China, Japan, India
Biden attributes economic struggles in Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow and New Delhi to xenophobia and a reluctance to embrace immigrants
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasizes the economic benefits of immigration while criticizing “xenophobia” in China, Japan and India.
“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said, citing immigrants as a driving force behind U.S. economic growth.
“Why is China stalling so badly economically, why is Japan having trouble, why is Russia, why is India, because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants. Immigrants are what makes us strong,” the U.S. President added.
Biden’s remarks were made during a fundraising event in Washington, marking the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Biden, vocal against Trump’s anti-immigrant stance, has actively pursued extensive economic and political ties with countries like Japan and India, aiming to counterbalance China and Russia globally.
The International Monetary Fund forecast last month that each country’s growth would decelerate in 2024 from the year prior, ranging from 0.9% in highly developed Japan to 6.8% in emerging India.
They forecast the United States’ growth at 2.7%, slightly higher than last year’s 2.5% rate.
Many economists attribute better-than-expected performance partly to migrants expanding the country’s labor force.
Concern about irregular migration has become a top issue for many U.S. voters before November’s presidential election.
Biden, who has condemned the rhetoric of his Republican opponent, Donald Trump, as anti-immigrant, has worked to court broad economic and political relations with countries including Japan and India to counter China and Russia globally.
Source: Newsroom
