Jamie Dimon’s recent whirlwind visit to Hong Kong followed a similar script: a schedule packed with meetings involving the entrepreneurs and business leaders connecting China with global markets.

But it was his increasingly visible stance on global issues that appeared to extend his career beyond market strategy and financial industry leadership as CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

His preoccupation with economic growth and world affairs drew particular attention in Hong Kong last week, shortly before boarding a private plane and jetting back to Washington for a state dinner at the White House to welcome President Xi Jinping.

“My biggest concern is geopolitics – world peace,” Dimon, the longest-serving CEO of a major Wall Street bank, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.

His emphasis on global economic growth also echoed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s views and the decades-old philosophy of China’s leaders, including Xi, that “development is of overriding importance”, laying the groundwork for China-US trade talks that were recently held at the bank’s New York headquarters.

Global markets have endured repeated panics this year, driven by surging oil prices, rising US Treasury yields, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase to fight inflation, and soaring debt – factors that have fuelled concerns about another major financial crisis.

The world economy and global markets are also grappling with geopolitical conflicts – including the Ukraine war that began in February 2022 and the US-Israeli war on Iran that just crossed the seven-month mark – as well as persistent trade tensions between China and the United States, and increasingly louder warnings about artificial intelligence.

The world economy and global markets are also grappling with geopolitical conflicts – including the Ukraine war that began in February 2022 and the US-Israeli war on Iran that just crossed the seven-month mark – as well as persistent trade tensions between China and the United States, and increasingly louder warnings about artificial intelligence. You always need to be prepared. Because if you look at economic history, the market isn’t always rightJamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase Dimon, whose signature financial strategy – a combination of low debt-to-equity ratios, high liquidity and large cash reserves known as the “fortress balance sheet” – often resurfaces in times of crisis, expressed concerns about “sticky inflation” in the US that has persistently hovered above 2 per cent for more than five years.

“If you are in business, you should be thinking about whether you can handle higher rates, higher credit spreads,” Dimon said, speaking from the JPMorgan office in Central district, the bustling financial centre of Hong Kong. “Just as a normal course, how do you manage risk?

However, Dimon noted that current conditions were “different” from the 2008 crisis, driven by excessive speculation on financial instruments backed by mortgage loans. Banks, the backbone of the financial system, are currently not overleveraged and have much more liquidity, while American corporations and consumers are not overleveraged either, he observed.

“The highest debt is sovereign debt. So, governments need to be financially responsible. And hopefully, they will be before a crisis forces the issue.” Government data shows that US sovereign debt has doubled in a decade, topping US$40 trillion last month. The cost of capital is jumping as oil, grain and other shocks resonate, with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bills at 5.234 per cent as of Monday afternoon, the highest in over 20 years.

Although Dimon maintains that the US remains a permanent investment destination, and that its economy is still “hugely powerful”, talk of diversification and de-dollarisation has accelerated. This is accompanied by Beijing’s growing efforts to lure international investors and push for global use of the yuan.

Many central banks and institutional investors also altered their strategies since March, reducing US bill holdings, purchasing gold, and diversifying away from the US dollar. Even Japan, an American ally, trimmed a total of US$135.4 billion in US Treasuries from March to July – a 10.9 per cent drop.

While acknowledging that stock prices were quite high and credit spreads were quite low, Dimon said people should never be surprised about market fluctuations. “The markets aren’t always right,” he said. “Things are very good today, and there’s reason for some happiness.” In the days preceding Dimon’s Hong Kong visit, JPMorgan Chase’s New York headquarters hosted a round of trade talks between Vice-Premier He Lifeng and his US negotiators, including Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“The markets aren’t always right,” he said. “Things are very good today, and there’s reason for some happiness.” In the days preceding Dimon’s Hong Kong visit, JPMorgan Chase’s New York headquarters hosted a round of trade talks between Vice-Premier He Lifeng and his US negotiators, including Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Underpinning these discussions was Dimon’s notion of government-business collaboration and a shared focus on growth, which he mentioned repeatedly in his interview, considering them vital to tackling many global problems.

“Secretary Bessent mentioned the other day – which is dead right – growth is the best antidote,” Dimon said. “So, countries should be thinking about what policies will maximise growth. “You see a lot of politicians always speaking about raising taxes or cuts. Before you do that, why don’t we all fix the things that are inhibiting growth? Growth is good for all the citizens, not just good for business. When you have growth, you have more employment, more wages.” Such thoughts are strikingly similar to Beijing’s stance, which views economic growth as the foundation for well-being, social stability and debt resolution.

“My view is: engagement is the best thing – at multiple levels and consistently,” Dimon said of bilateral relations, highlighting the importance of high-level meetings. “I’m glad that they are meeting and engaging. I think it’s important to hear each other out.” The latest talks yielded some results – Beijing and Washington agreed to extend a nearly year-long trade truce for two more months, until January 10. And for the first time, the two sides discussed AI, according to their official statements.

“My view is: engagement is the best thing – at multiple levels and consistently,” Dimon said of bilateral relations, highlighting the importance of high-level meetings. “I’m glad that they are meeting and engaging. I think it’s important to hear each other out.” The latest talks yielded some results – Beijing and Washington agreed to extend a nearly year-long trade truce for two more months, until January 10. And for the first time, the two sides discussed AI, according to their official statements.

Ahead of Thursday’s state dinner, in their speeches to officials and top American business executives – including Dimon – presidents Xi and Trump praised past friendships and downplayed current rivalries.

While competition persists over AI, biotech and many other sectors, Dimon identified potential areas for cooperation between the two superpowers, such as working towards world peace, nuclear non-proliferation and counterterrorism.

“We should keep reminding ourselves that China wants to lift up its people, America wants to lift up its people,” he noted. Despite market debate over the rapid deployment of AI, Dimon argued that the progression of the technology would move from machine learning to large language models and then, eventually, artificial general intelligence – thinking that matches or surpasses human cognitive ability.

Dimon said the technology would transform lives and industries. “AI is real. We’ve been doing it for 13 years,” he said, citing its customer-oriented use to prevent fraud and to facilitate marketing, prospecting, design and call centres. “It’ll save lives, prevent car accidents and develop drugs and composite materials. If you have kids, they may live to 100. We may not have some of the diseases we were all afflicted with. So, yeah, you should applaud that.” As any technology carries potential downsides, he called for broad government actions to redeploy or retrain workers, but remained broadly positive on the technology’s future gains.

“I think AI’s productivity benefits are still some way down the road. We don’t yet know exactly when they’ll be fully realised, but I believe it will be a huge plus.” It does create real vulnerabilities and drives the need for increased spending on cyber protection, Dimon said, mentioning possible threats through open-source code and internet access.

“Again, my attitude is: roll up your sleeves, get to work,” he said. “It’s not like we’re ignoring it.

“It may cause some disruption. But I don’t spend much time debating it. My job is to do a better job for my customers. We use computers, we use technology, and we’ll use AI the same way. The north star is serving customers better. AI is just another tool to help us do that.” If you make it ideological – Democrats against Republicans – and make moral statements about what works, then you lose sight of the factsJamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase After spending more than two decades at the helm of one of the world’s most valuable banks, Dimon still maintains a sharp sense of global market risks and business deals. Increasingly, however, the 70-year-old multibillionaire has set his sights beyond bank profits and personal wealth towards some of the “big issues” facing the world.

“It may cause some disruption. But I don’t spend much time debating it. My job is to do a better job for my customers. We use computers, we use technology, and we’ll use AI the same way. The north star is serving customers better. AI is just another tool to help us do that.” If you make it ideological – Democrats against Republicans – and make moral statements about what works, then you lose sight of the factsJamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase After spending more than two decades at the helm of one of the world’s most valuable banks, Dimon still maintains a sharp sense of global market risks and business deals. Increasingly, however, the 70-year-old multibillionaire has set his sights beyond bank profits and personal wealth towards some of the “big issues” facing the world.

“It may cause some disruption. But I don’t spend much time debating it. My job is to do a better job for my customers. We use computers, we use technology, and we’ll use AI the same way. The north star is serving customers better. AI is just another tool to help us do that.” If you make it ideological – Democrats against Republicans – and make moral statements about what works, then you lose sight of the factsJamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase After spending more than two decades at the helm of one of the world’s most valuable banks, Dimon still maintains a sharp sense of global market risks and business deals. Increasingly, however, the 70-year-old multibillionaire has set his sights beyond bank profits and personal wealth towards some of the “big issues” facing the world.

“You know, the war in Ukraine is terrible, and it’s causing a lot of issues in Europe now,” he said. “And it’s getting worse. Obviously, that affects oil and grain prices. And now you have the war in the Middle East – Iran – and that’s also affecting oil.” He is also keen on advising younger generations to develop critical-thinking skills and a strong work ethic.

“You can’t have critical thinking without deep curiosity and an open mind and asking yourself, ‘Does this really work that way?’” he said, adding: “And learn, learn, learn, learn, learn.”

When asked about any personal goals he may have, Dimon, who is already a business icon respected across Wall Street and Washington, started laughing. “It’s getting a little late for me to have personal-development goals,” he quipped, before quickly adding: “I want to be smarter and better and help people, and help lift up the world.” At a JPMorgan town hall meeting immediately before the interview, the CEO touched on global chaos. Later, with the SCMP, he expressed pride in the “vibrant, healthy, innovative” US economy while also flagging some of his home country’s shortcomings.

“In America, there are things we have done really badly,” Dimon said. “And whether it’s Democrat or Republican policies, we’ve done a bad job for inner cities; our schools aren’t graduating enough kids. The only way you fix that is to acknowledge it, and then you can attack it.

“But, if you make it ideological – Democrats against Republicans – and make moral statements about what works, then you lose sight of the facts. Sometimes our policies don’t work, and we have to be willing to say they don’t work.” Regarding questions about how he would help change the situation, Dimon shied away from personal pursuits, focusing instead on his company’s strategy.

“I tell people that at JPMorgan, we hope we help cities, states, schools, hospitals, companies, governments,” he said. “We bank all the development banks, we bank the United States government. “And that’s what we’re there for.” By Frank Tang