JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has arranged for Henry Kissinger and a group of U.S. and Chinese business leaders to attend a summit in Shanghai as global companies grapple with the worst crisis in years. Sino-US tensions.
Next week’s event, part of Dimon’s first visit to mainland China in four years, underscores efforts by U.S. companies to keep plans on track in the world’s second-largest economy.
The CEOs of US giants Starbucks and Pfizer, as well as China’s Baidu and Geely, will all be in attendance. Kissinger, a century-old statesman and founder of Sino-US reconciliation in the 1970s, will address the meeting via video link.
It comes after China’s crackdown on consulting firms rattled Western companies that rely on its advice, and Beijing banned critical infrastructure operators from buying products from U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology.The U.S. has been making it harder for China’s tech sector to obtain cutting-edge components and machinery.
It will be Dimon’s first trip to mainland China since he apologized in 2021 for telling U.S. business leaders his bank would outlive the Chinese Communist Party.
“The timing coincides with a softening of rhetoric between the U.S. and China, with Biden calling for a detente,” said Han Lin, a professor at NYU Shanghai. But he added: “We’ve seen stories like this before, where things get better and then get better. Worse, it is this uncertainty that keeps multinationals on edge.”
JPMorgan’s own executives have highlighted fraught relations between Beijing and Washington. Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto told investors this month that tensions between the U.S. and China “are something we have to learn to live with because it can’t be resolved, but hopefully through dialogue, tensions can become constructive.” sex”.
No Chinese government officials are expected to speak at the meeting, which in previous years has been done by Treasury representatives and State Council or cabinet advisers.
Kissinger, who turns 100 on May 27, and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will participate virtually in a “Diplomatic Dialogue” moderated by the bank’s head of asset management, Mary Erdos. “s meeting. Other sessions included discussions on decarbonisation, healthcare and supply chain resilience.
Laxman Narasimhan will be in attendance, making his first trip to Starbucks’ second-largest market since succeeding Howard Schultz as chief executive in March. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla will visit China for the second time in two months. Bourla told the Financial Times earlier this month that he still sees a “very large” opportunity for Pfizer in the country.
Robin Li, founder of Chinese Internet company Baidu, and Robin Li, head of Chinese automaker Geely, will speak at the event.
So did Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, executive vice-president of Chinese electric car maker BYD Stella Li, and Singapore-based storage operator GLP CEO Mei Ming.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
The meeting comes at a time when corporate ties between the two superpowers are fraying and doubts are growing about the strength of China’s post-pandemic rebound.However, many MNCs are still looking to the Chinese economy to fuel their growth
The raids on the Chinese offices of several consulting firms have made U.S. companies more cautious about doing business in China, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned last month that the new anti-espionage law “significantly increases the uncertainty and uncertainty of doing business in the People’s Republic of China.” risk”.
Washington and Beijing are trying to stabilize relations through trade. China’s commerce minister and his U.S. counterpart expressed concerns about the two countries’ trade and investment policies at a meeting in Washington this week but pledged to keep lines of communication open. It was the first visit by a senior Chinese official to the U.S. capital since 2020.
CEOs of multinational companies with operations in China are increasingly confident about China’s prospects, according to a survey released this week by The Conference Board. But with 88% of respondents warning that geopolitical tensions are negatively impacting their business, US CEOs remain more pessimistic than their European counterparts.
U.S.-based multinationals reported mixed results for their China operations in the latest earnings season.
This is the first time since 2019 that the JPMorgan Chase China Summit will be held live. More than 2,600 people are expected to attend. The conference is closed to the media.
Additional reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing and Jamie Smyth in New York