Will China be amused by Dimon’s joke?

Por Shuli Ren

In America, CEOs like to be funny and joke on stage to get the audience’s attention and show off their charisma. But some jokes can go too far, especially when they involve China, where politicians have a different sense of humor, and sometimes just lack it.

“The Communist Party is celebrating its 100th anniversary, as is JPMorgan ”, The bank’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said Tuesday at a panel discussion at the Boston College Chief Executives Club. “I bet we will last longer”, informó Bloomberg News.

Here’s why the joke was risky. The longevity of the party is a hugely sensitive issue for President Xi Jinping. As economic growth slows and income inequality widens, many in China feel the country is going the wrong way. This summer, as Xi prepared for his third term, he strongly promoted the “common prosperity”, A socialist push to expand the middle class of China and reinforce the popularity of the regime.

A big question is why Dimon he felt confident enough to make the comment. It certainly enjoys a lot of goodwill within China. Earlier this year, the bank obtained approval from Chinese regulators to own full ownership of its securities company in China. Last week, he managed to enter Hong Kong without undergoing a three-week quarantine, normally mandatory for visitors from the United States.

Dimon, who has a long history of making reckless comments, may have felt comfortable enough with JPMorgan Chase’s position in China to allow himself the luxury of being a bit provocative, while perhaps signaling to the rest of the world that He was not held captive by the restrictive regime.

Whatever the intention, Dimon and other corporate leaders could never be too cautious when it comes to dealing with China. In fact, the day after his prank, Dimon issued a statement in which he affirmed his regret: “I’m sorry and I shouldn’t have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company”.

Even the warmest relationship can quickly evaporate. The recent experience of the US private equity group Blackstone Inc. is revealing. The co-founder of Blackstone, Stephen SchwarzmanHe has spent years courting China’s political elite, even pledging $ 100 million to build a prestigious international education program at Tsinghua University, President Xi’s alma mater, to develop dozens of students a year.

Still, Chinese regulators blocked Schwarzman’s planned $ 3 billion purchase of the developer. Soho China Ltd. amid growing anti-capitalist sentiment.

And Blackstone it was simply trying to expand its real estate portfolio in China, JPMorgan’s business transactions could be much more politically sensitive. The company is pushing private banking there, with an army of relationship managers looking to persuade China’s nouveau riche to open wealth management accounts. Such an initiative could easily be described as divisive in a country increasingly sensitive to the wealth gap.

On China, business deals often boil down to narrative. One day, a foreign bank is welcomed and its presence is seen as helping China improve its financial industry. The next day, the same company could be classified as a predatory vulture. Words matter and harmless intention or humor can be misinterpreted in translation. Jamie Dimon has every right to tell a joke, but it always helps to know your audience.