JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon delivers a speech during the inauguration the new French headquarters of JP Morgan bank Tuesday, June 29, 2021 in Paris. JP Morgan’s new trading floor is the latest example of how Brexit is changing Europe’s financial landscape since January. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool) Michel Euler/AP

Jamie Dimon regrets comment that JPMorgan will outlast Chinese Communist Party

Ryan King November 24, 01:13 PMNovember 24, 01:40 PM

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says he regrets joking that his bank would outlive the Chinese Communist Party.

Dimon’s remarks at an event in Boston on Tuesday drew attention as an unusual example of corporate executives who do business in China speaking negatively about the authoritarian regime.

“I regret and should not have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company,” Dimon said in a statement.

CEO JAMIE DIMON JOKES JPMORGAN CHASE WILL OUTLAST CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

“Dimon acknowledges he should not speak lightly or disrespectfully about another country or its leadership,” a spokesperson for JPMorgan told the Washington Examiner. “Jamie said he strongly supports a constructive and detailed economic dialogue with China.”

Dimon also said the joke ran counter to the “constructive and thoughtful dialogue” society needs. During a press conference Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian dismissed the comments and suggested U.S. media outlets were engaging in a “publicity stunt.”

JPMorgan began doing business in China in 1921, the same year the CCP was founded. Dimon made light of the fact the two entities would celebrate their 100th anniversary in China this year.

“I made a joke the other day that the Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year — so is JPMorgan. I’d make a bet that we last longer,” Dimon said, according to Reuters. “I can’t say that in China. They are probably listening anyway.”

Dimon emphasized the company was committed to doing business in China, the New York Post reported.

Dimon previously touched on the tension of doing business in China during an interview with Axios last October. He said it was important to be “selective” when making comments on China, but he also appeared to criticize the CCP.

“I’ve made it very clear: We believe in human rights. We believe in free enterprise. We believe in the capitalist system. That’s all counter to China,” he said in the interview.

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JPMorgan is the largest bank in the United States, with an estimated balance sheet of over $3.6 trillion. The company has an estimated $20 billion exposure to China, Bloomberg reported.

© 2021 Washington Examiner

Originally appeared at Washington Examiner

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