Jamie Dimon: JPMorgan CEO regrets joke about Chinese Communist Party
“I can’t say that in China,” Dimon added with a chuckle. “They probably are listening anyway.”
But in a statement Wednesday, Dimon walked it back.
“I regret and should not have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company,” he said.
A JPMorgan spokesperson said the bank was committed to China and that Dimon had made clear during the discussion in Boston that “China and its people are very smart and very thoughtful.”
“Dimon acknowledges that he should never speak lightly or disrespectfully about another country or its leadership,” the spokesperson added.
Speaking at a Foreign Ministry press conference on Thursday, spokesperson Zhao Lijian downplayed the issue, saying that he had “noted relevant reports and the sincere reflection expressed by relevant people.”
“I believe this is a proper attitude,” Zhao added. “We hope relevant media will stop hyping up this issue.”
In a statement at the time, Dimon called China “one of the largest opportunities in the world for many of our clients and for JPMorgan Chase.”
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the executive received special permission in the interest of “Hong Kong’s economy,” citing the size of the bank’s business in the city, which is home to its regional headquarters.
Dimon cited that trip on Tuesday, saying, “Obviously, I don’t have freedom of speech in China … like I have in Hong Kong. I don’t have it in Hong Kong anymore either.” He did not elaborate further.
The American CEO was speaking at Boston College, where he gave a wide-ranging talk on the United States, China and other topics.
At one point, Dimon compared the political and economic approaches in both countries, saying that in the United States, “we have the gifts of our founding fathers: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise, freedom of human capital, immigration.”
“If you opened up the doors of America, a billion people would come…
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