How the US handles its shaky relationship with China will affect the future of the world, says JPMorgan chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
“It’s the thread from Ukraine, oil and gas, food, migration, all our relationships, the most important one being China,” Dimon told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang in an interview that aired Wednesday. “That is the most important for the future of the world.”
“And obviously Ukraine is affecting it. In fact, it’s very hard to see really positive outcomes with China until the Ukraine war is resolved,” Dimon said, referencing the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Dimon offered his assessment of China in a wide-ranging interview with Chang, where he talked about his career and the impact of AI on jobs.
In May, Dimon also advocated for more engagement between the US and China. Speaking at the JPMorgan Global China Summit in Shanghai, he said he found it heartening that US leaders were talking about derisking.
“You’re not going to fix these things if you are just sitting across the Pacific yelling at each other. So I’m hoping we have real engagement,” Dimon said, per Reuters.
Dimon’s fresh remarks on China come as the world’s second-largest economy finds itself in a fraught relationship with the US. And in January, CIA chief William J. Burns said China is a far bigger threat to the US than Russia.
“While Russia may pose the most immediate challenge, China is the bigger long-term threat,” Burns wrote in a Foreign Affairs op-ed on January 30.
China is also set to become a focal point for US foreign policy, no matter who wins the presidential elections this year. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have talked about how they would confront and handle China if elected in 2024.
On Wednesday, Biden called for higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum during a rally in Pennsylvania.
“They’ve got a population that is more people in retirement than working. They’re not importing anything,” Biden said. “They’re xenophobic. Nobody else coming in. They’ve got real problems.”
But while Dimon did single out China as a significant risk to the world, he told Chang that he is optimistic that the US could manage them.
“It’ll be okay, but we need really good American leadership to do that,” Dimon said.
“And don’t worry, they’re not a 10 foot giant, they have a lot of issues. America’s got a lot of strains. I like the fact the American government’s talking to them constantly now,” he added.
