Biden said at a campaign fundraising event that hostility towards foreigners was hobbling the growth of the four countries.
U.S. President Joe Biden has labelled its key ally Japan and partner India alongside China and Russia as countries that fail to reap the economic rewards of migration because they are “xenophobic”.
According to Al-Jazeera, Biden said at a campaign fundraising event that hostility towards foreigners was hobbling the growth of the four countries.
“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said at the event to mark the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“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.”
Japan and India are U.S. allies so Biden’s remarks came as a surprise.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was at the White House for a state dinner three weeks ago when the two countries celebrated their “unbreakable” partnership and Biden said the US and Japan enjoyed the “same values, the same commitment to democracy and freedom to dignity”.
He welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House for a state visit last year.
Japan and India are also part of the Quad security grouping.
The White House sought to downplay the president’s remarks on Thursday.
“The broader point the president was making, and I think people all around the world recognise this, is that the United States is a nation of immigrants, and it’s in our DNA,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“Our allies know very well how much the president respects them, values their friendship, values their contributions,” he added.
Neither Japan nor India have responded to the comments.