Amid Biden's Xenophobic Claim, A Look At IMF's Growth Rate Prediction of India, Russia, China & US

New Delhi: United States President Joe Biden claimed that ‘Xenophobia’ is stalling growth of countries like India, Russia, China and Japan, adding that while immigration has proven to be beneficial for the economy of the United States. In simple terms, Xenophobia can be understood as a fear or hatred for people from foreign. 

While addressing a  Washington fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign at the beginning of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the United States President said, “One of the reasons why our economy's growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants.”

"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," Biden added. 

IMF Predicts Global Slowdown 

Biden's statements come at a time when the International Monetary Fund has predicted that countries will experience a global economic slowdown in the year 2024 as compared to 2023. The IMF blamed the prevailing economic climate for the same. 

The IMF has predicted that the United States would grow at 2.7 per cent, slightly more than its 2.5 per cent rate last year.

What IMF Said For India 

However, for India, the IMF has revised its growth outlook for India, forecasting a 6.8 per cent expansion in GDP for the current fiscal year 2024/25, with a further 6.5 per cent growth anticipated for the following year. This represents a 0.3 percentage point upward adjustment from previous projections in January.

India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, said the IMF, adding that the growth would be driven majorly by public investment. Further, the IMF has raised its outlook for India's FY24 growth to 7.8%, surpassing the government's estimate of 7.6%. 

As per the World Economic Outlook, the Indian economy's gross domestic product is likely to grow at 6.5 per cent in the next financial year. 

As per the IMF, Russia is expected to grow 3.2% in 2024. The international body made the prediction in its latest World Economic Outlook published in April. 

Immigration: Biden's Biggest Concern Amid Re-election Bid 

Immigration has been at the centre of US politics since decades and for Joe Biden, it is the major concern ahead of the presidential election. In the latest poll conducted in the United States, 27 per cent of respondents said that immigration was the most important problem facing the country, reported Newsweek. As per the report, this is the third month in a row when immigration has been voted as the biggest problem of the US. 

Biden along with the Mexican president has also vowed to take strict action to prevent illegal immigration. Reports say that Biden is under immense political pressure from all sides including his own party leaders to act on surging border crossings.