Critics are condemning JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon for apologizing to China over a joke he made about the country's communist regime, charging that the billionaire businessman is allowing China to censor Americans.
Dimon issued two groveling apologies Wednesday, just one day after saying his firm would outlast China's Communist regime.
Speaking at Boston College on Tuesday, Dimon quipped: 'I was just in Hong Kong and I made a joke that the Communist Party is celebrating its hundredth year. So is JP Morgan. I'd make a bet we last longer.'
'I can't say that in China. They probably are listening anyway,' the 65-year-old banker added.
But in a sign that even the King of Wall Street is wary of Beijing, he has since apologized – twice.
His public expressions of remorse were concerning to some, including essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
'Apologies driven by fear (or economic interest) are not apologies, but genuine expressions of submission,' Taleb tweeted.
Speech: JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon (pictured in Paris in June) has apologized twice for the remarks he made about China at the Boston College Chief Executives Club
The millionaire former option trader later added: 'Nice to wake up to find out that I am freer, less dependent, and though not as rich, have much, much more solid f*** you money than Jamie Dimon. Slavery does not decrease with wealth.'
Journalist Matthew Yglesias also shared concern about the optics of the apologies.
'The extent to which US-China economic integration is exporting Chinese speech norms to America is a big problem that nobody is working on,' Yglesias tweeted.
Added another Twitter user: 'W.O.W. Jamie Dimon NEVER walks back his comments...China has much more power and control over the US than anyone could ever have imagined!'
Some thought leaders expressed their dismay over the apology on Twitter, with essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb saying: 'Apologies driven by fear (or economic interest) are not apologies, but genuine expressions of submission
During his first apology, Dimon said: 'I regret and should not have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company.'
Hours later, he added: 'I truly regret my recent comment because it's never right to joke about or denigrate any group of people, whether it's a country, its leadership, or any part of a society and culture.
'Speaking in that way can take away from constructive and thoughtful dialogue in society, which is needed now more than ever.'
Other social media expressed shock over Dimon's uncharacteristic apology
Speaking at Boston College on Tuesday (pictured), Dimon quipped: 'I was just in Hong Kong and I made a joke that the Communist Party is celebrating its hundredth year. So is JP Morgan. I'd make a bet we last longer'
A BloombergQuint article published Wednesday said Dimon was testing China on censorship.
'Companies, in particular, are realizing more and more that they can't ignore political risks of doing business in China, and will have to answer to shareholders and other constituencies at home,' Lowy Institute public opinion and foreign policy program director Natasha Kassam told the outlet.
'As views towards China sour, we can see increased expectations that governments and companies will be more forthright on China’s many human rights issues.'
Dimon's comments had risked jeopardizing JPMorgan's growth ambitions in China where it won regulatory approval in August to become the first full foreign owner of a securities brokerage in the country. (pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing)
China's foreign ministry today said it noted Dimon's apology and said it hoped media would stop 'hyping' the issue.
'I noted the reports about how the individual involved has sincerely reflected. I think this is the right attitude. I hope the media involved will stop hyping this issue,' foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular daily briefing in response to a question.
The Dimon remark has been a hot topic in Hong Kong's financial circles with bankers surprised the JPMorgan boss would make the comments given the sensitivities of dealing with China.
His comments had risked jeopardizing JPMorgan's growth ambitions in China where it won regulatory approval in August to become the first full foreign owner of a securities brokerage in the country.
China experts in the United States, however, said that Dimon's quick apology should ensure no serious damage was done to the bank's long-term ambitions.
China expert Robert Lawrence Kuhn told CNN: '[Dimon] was afraid of the reaction in China, he's seen precedent in the past.
'This sounds like a trivial matter and one we can all smile at but it is deeply probative of at least three points: one is the common assumption that the Chinese people do not like the Communist Party-led government which is not true the large majority support the party granted they recognize the problems.
'But they've seen a 50-fold increase of GDP per capita, 800 plus million people brought out of poverty, more high speed rail than the rest of the world put together, China respected. So they are very pleased with the government even though there are problems.
'Secondly, China does need to relax in response to every perceived or even real criticisms. It only makes things worse. China needs to do that.
'The third point though, is how individual corporations work in China. There are many examples and there are constraints. China would be the biggest market in the world, to some companies in the world it's extremely important, other companies less. But there are constraints, and they need to be judged on an individual basis.'
Dimon attends a luncheon held in French President Emmanuel Macron's honor at the State Department in Washington,
