JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on China: ‘We shouldn’t be afraid’

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon says America should not be fearful of China but set firm guardrails in dealing with the rival nation, cautioning that severing business ties would not help U.S. consumers.

Dimon downplayed the perceived threat in an interview with FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo, noting that U.S. GDP per person dwarfs China's. "We have all the food, water and energy we need," he told the "Mornings with Maria" host. "They don't."

The CEO said that while China has lifted many of its citizens out of poverty in recent decades, "We shouldn't be afraid. We should just negotiate security, tax, trade – all the things that make sense for us – and we should do it directly, forthrightly, toughly."

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Dimon said China is getting ready to emerge from a few years of very slow growth as it opens up from COVID-19 lockdowns, and is trying to attract more foreign direct investment. He expects those moves will be beneficial to the American consumer.

The banking titan told Bartiromo that he does not see U.S. banks pulling out of China in the near future, saying the U.S. government sets foreign policy and American business wants to compete, "so we want to make sure whatever trade negotiations are advantageous to American business."

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He pointed to trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) borne of a big trade network, saying that whether or not China is involved in future deals, "if China cherry-picks these other nations, that's going to be bad for American business."

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"Yes, there are a lot of challenges in a lot of countries [we] do business in," Dimon said, adding, "You know, leaving the country isn't really the best thing for the future of America."