The US President Joe Biden recently said that “xenophobia” from China to Japan and India is hobbling their growth, while he argued that the migration has been beneficial for the US economy.
He further said that one of the reasons why the US economy is progressing is because of the immigrants, as according to Biden the US welcomes immigrants.
Such remarks have stirred major headlines as the blatant accusations by the US is not going to sit well with the major economies of Asia.
The US President was speaking at a Washington fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign, which also marked the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. He questioned why China’s and Russia’s economic growth is suddenly stunted. Also similar remarks were made on important strategic Asian giants, India and the US’s long standing ally Japan’s economy.
He mentioned that it is because such countries are xenophobic. However, Asia is the fastest growing region in the world today, in terms of development, dynamic progress and economic stability.
The remarks made by the current US President could raise hackles in New Delhi for such an opinionated and a sweeping comment. Calling and labeling Asian countries as xenophobic is not viewed as a passing remark.
The International Monetary Fund forecast last month that each country would see its growth decelerate in 2024 from the year prior. They forecast that the United States would grow at 2.7 per cent, slightly brisker than its 2.5 per cent rate last year.
Despite predictions of a global economic slowdown in 2024, the IMF predicted that India’s economy is projected to grow at a robust 6.8 per cent and Japan to grow at 0.9 per cent.
Concerns about the migration issue have taken the center stage for the upcoming 2024 US Presidential elections. It has remained a hot and polarising issue in the 2024 US presidential campaign. Both Biden and Trump are heavily banking on immigration as the chief topical issue for the elections.
Biden has taken a softer stance on the issue of migrants. He often criticise his political rival, Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Meanwhile, in his bid to return to the White House, Trump has attacked migrants quite frequently and often used degrading terms against them. During his campaign, the former US President has characterised the migrants as “dangerous criminals” who are “poisoning the blood”.
However, it has been observed that Biden is witnessing the wrath of the voters over immigration and unemployment. A poll conducted by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research inferred that more than half of the US adults are unsatisfied with Biden’s presidency as it has hurt the country on the issues including the escalating rate of immigration and the cost of living. Analysts have stated that the immigration issue is topping the trends, the longest stretch for this particular issue in the past 24 years.
Biden has been actively pursuing broader economic and political alliances with countries such as Japan and India, which aims to counter global influences from nations like China and Russia.
When Biden is attempting to broaden his international clout with the next emerging global leaders like India and other Asian nations to keep a check on its adversaries, such commentaries can be detrimental to Biden’s second bid for the White House.
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