Japan, India, Russia and China are xenophobic, Biden said. The White House is ironing it out

The mentioned words were spoken by the American president at a meeting with donors of mostly American-Asian origin.

“You see, one of the reasons our economy is growing is because of you and so many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants. Look at the reason – look, think about it – why China is so stagnant economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why Russia? Why India? Because they are xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” American media quoted the station as saying from Biden’s speech. At the same time, CNN recalled that Biden called Japan, Russia and China “xenophobic” earlier in March during a radio interview.

The White House is now trying to explain that Biden did not mean his words as a derogatory comment against the mentioned countries – he said he was talking about American immigration policy in a broader context.

My uncle must have been eaten by cannibals, Biden added. Papua New Guinea is not amused

America

“Our allies and partners know in a tangible way how much President Biden values them, their friendship and their cooperation,” said Biden’s national security adviser, John Kirby. “They understand how much and absolutely value the idea of alliance and partnership,” he added.

White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre tried to explain the American president’s statements in a similar way. “He said that in terms of who we are as a nation, that we are a nation of immigrants, that it’s in our DNA,” she said, adding that the US-Japan relationship is “enduring” and “important.”

At the same time, the British station BBC put Biden’s statements into a factual context and recalled that while Japan, India and China have relatively few foreign-born workers, Russia, on the other hand, is heavily dependent on migrant labor, a large part of which comes from Central Asia.

She also pointed out that while economic growth in Japan and China was slow, Russia’s militarized economy picked up slightly last year despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and international sanctions. At the same time, India is experiencing stable growth, in 2023 it will overtake Britain and become the fifth largest economy in the world, the station noted.

At the same time, migration, which Biden spoke about, is one of the big topics of this year’s presidential election in the United States. While an unprecedented number of migrants are arriving at the US southern border, the challenger to the Democratic presidency, Republican Donald Trump, is calling for a radical tightening of anti-immigration measures.