US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned anti-Asian violence in the country, warning against silence and complicity in the aftermath of shootings this week in Atlanta, in which eight people, including six Asian women, were killed.

Speaking from Emory University in Atlanta after meeting Asian-American community leaders on Friday, Biden acknowledged there has been "a skyrocketing spike" in hate against Asian-Americans over the last year, Xinhua news agency reported. "Whatever the motivation," Biden said of the reason behind the massage parlour shootings shootings, "we know this, too many Asian-Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying, waking up each morning the past year feeling their safety and the safety of their loved ones are at stake".