Jamie Dimon rallies business elite in Shanghai amid China-US tensions

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JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has lined up Henry Kissinger and a group of American and Chinese business leaders for a summit in Shanghai as global companies try to navigate the worst Sino-American tensions in years.

Next week’s event, part of Dimon’s first visit to mainland China in four years, underscores attempts by American companies to keep their plans on track in the world’s second-largest economy.

The CEOs of US giants Starbucks and Pfizer, and China’s Baidu and Geely, are among those scheduled to attend in person. Kissinger, the century-old statesman and architect of China-US rapprochement in the 1970s, is expected to address the rally via video link.

The event follows a Chinese crackdown on consulting firms that has rattled Western companies that rely on their advice, and Beijing’s ban on key infrastructure operators to buy the products of the American chipmaker Micron Technology. The United States has made it more difficult for the Chinese tech sector to access cutting-edge components and machinery.

It will be Dimon’s first time to mainland China since he apologized in 2021 for telling US business leaders that his bank would survive the Chinese Communist Party.

“The timing fits well with softening rhetoric between the United States and China, with Biden calling for a thaw,” said NYU Shanghai professor Han Lin. But he added: “We’ve seen this story before, where things get better and then worse, and it’s the uncertainty that keeps the multinationals on edge.”

JPMorgan’s own executives pointed to the strained relationship between Beijing and Washington. The tension between China and the United States was “something we have to learn to live with because it cannot be resolved, but I hope that through dialogue this tension will become constructive”, said the director of operations. Daniel Pinto to investors this month.

No Chinese government figure is due to speak at the conference, which in previous years has been addressed by a representative of the Ministry of Finance and an adviser from the State Council or cabinet.

Kissinger, who turns 100 on May 27, and Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state, will join virtually for a session called “a dialogue on diplomacy” chaired by Mary Erdoes, the bank’s head of asset management . Other sessions include discussions on decarbonization, healthcare and supply chain resilience.

Laxman Narasimhan will take part in his first trip to Starbucks’ second-largest market since taking over from Howard Schultz as the coffee chain’s CEO in March. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla will join him on his second visit to China in two months. Bourla told the FT earlier this month he still sees a “very big” opportunity for Pfizer in the country.

Robin Li, founder of Chinese internet company Baidu, and Daniel Li, who runs Chinese automaker Geely, are due to speak at the event.

So are Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, Stella Li, executive vice president of Chinese electric car maker BYD and Ming Mei, chief executive of Singapore-based warehouse operator GLP.

JPMorgan declined to comment.

The rally comes at a time when trade ties between the two superpowers are unraveling and doubts are growing on the strength of China’s post-pandemic rebound. However, many global companies are still looking to the Chinese economy to drive their growth.

Raids on the Chinese offices of several consulting firms have made US companies more wary of operating in the country, with the US Chamber of Commerce warning last month that a new counterintelligence law ” greatly increases the uncertainties and risks of doing business in the People’s Republic”. ”.

Washington and Beijing are trying to stabilize trade relations. China’s commerce minister and his US counterpart raised concerns about their country’s trade and investment policies at a meeting in Washington this week, but pledged to keep communication channels open. It was the first visit by a senior Chinese official to the U.S. capital since 2020.

A Conference Board survey released this week showed growing confidence in China’s prospects among chief executives of multinational companies with operations in the country. But 88% of them warned that geopolitical tensions were negatively affecting their businesses and US-based CEOs remained more pessimistic than their European counterparts.

US-based multinationals reported mixed results from their operations in China during the past earnings season.

This is the first time since 2019 that JPMorgan’s China summit has been held in person and more than 2,600 people are expected for the event, the sessions of which are closed to the media.

Additional reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing and Jamie Smyth in New York