From China to Japan to India, US President Joe Biden has said that xenophobia is an obstacle to growth, arguing that immigration has been good for the US economy.

According to the Reuters news agency, Joe Biden said on Wednesday at a fundraising event in Washington for his 2024 election campaign and the launch of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month that one of the keys to growing our economy is the reason is you and many others, why? Because we welcome immigrants.

He asked why China is so severely affected economically. Why is Japan in trouble? Why is Russia happening to India? Because they are xenophobic, they don’t want immigrants, while immigrants are what make us strong.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund predicted that growth in every country would slow in 2024.

He further predicted that the U.S. would grow at a rate of 2.7 per cent, slightly better than last year’s 2.5 percent rate, with many experts attributing the economy’s improved performance to an expansion in the nation’s labour force. They call immigrants.

Concern over illegal immigration has become an issue for many American voters ahead of November’s presidential election.

Joe Biden, who has denounced Republican rival Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, has worked to improve broad economic and political ties with other countries, including Japan and India, to counter China and Russia on the global stage.

What is xenophobia?

Disliking or being prejudiced against the people of other countries is called xenophobia. According to the media, US President Joe Biden has blamed xenophobia, i.e. hatred for foreigners, for Japan’s economic problems and has argued that the growth in the US economy is due to the acceptance of immigrants. 

Biden reportedly made the remarks at a fundraising event in Washington on Wednesday for his 2024 re-election campaign. According to the Reuters news agency, Biden said that one of the reasons for the growth in the American economy is to welcome foreign immigrants.

 American media organisation Bloomberg has also reported Biden’s statement. In the past, President Biden linked China’s economic woes to its reluctance to accept immigration. Still, this time, he added Russia and his longtime ally Japan to the list, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg pointed out that Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to Washington three weeks ago for a summit and state dinner. It has said that Biden’s “critical remarks and the mention of Japan alongside America’s two biggest rivals could add to Tokyo’s concerns.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented Thursday that the president was trying to make a more significant point when he described Japan and India as “xenophobic,” adding on Air Force One: “He was saying that when it comes to who we are as a nation, we are a nation of Immigrants, it’s in our DNA,” and that Biden was making a “broad comment” in his speech about his comments about Japan and India.

Biden’s criticism of Japan comes less than a month after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on a state visit and nearly a year after Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a state visit of his own, as Biden relied on improving relations with both Japan and India as essential counterweights to China’s growing global influence.