[Epoch Times, September 22, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Wang Xiang reported) On Wednesday (September 21), the CEOs of eight banks including Bank of America, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase attended a hearing before the House Finance Committee of Congress . At least three executives have pledged to follow Washington’s orders and withdraw from the Chinese market should Beijing attack Taiwan.
The CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, among the largest U.S. banks, made the pledge during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.
Missouri Republican Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer asked if they were prepared to pull their investments out of China if Taiwan came under military attack.
Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s chief executive, replied: “We will follow the guidance of the U.S. government, which (we) have been working with China for the past few decades. If they change their stance, we will do so immediately. Change, as we did in Russia.”
Citi CEO Jane Fraser and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon both agreed with Moynihan’s comments.
“We absolutely salute the U.S. government and follow any direction the U.S. government tells us, including what you want us to do,” Dimon told the committee.
In the wake of the Kremlin attack on Ukraine, U.S. banks responded quickly to international condemnation of the Kremlin by announcing plans to end their banking operations in Russia. But China’s economy is much larger than Russia’s, and many Western banks are looking to expand their operations in China.
Citibank’s exposure to China, including loans and investment securities, was worth $27.3 billion at the end of 2021, five times its size in Russia. JPMorgan Chase established a securities joint venture in China in 2011 and only received special approval from the authorities to become a wholly-owned company last year.
Over the past 18 months, multinational companies have become more concerned about the potential for conflict in Taiwan as Beijing has stepped up its military activities around the island.
Company executives have been asking security experts in Washington about the possibility of a Sino-U.S. war over Taiwan and exploring risk aversion measures.
In March 2021, Gen. Philip Davidson, then the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress that he believed Beijing could attack Taiwan by 2027, drawing widespread attention.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday (September 18) that the United States would send troops to defend Taiwan if Beijing attacks. He has issued similar warnings four times in the past year, in what is seen as perhaps a shift in U.S. policy toward China and underscoring Beijing’s growing threat to Taiwan.
White House officials said after Biden’s interview that the U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed, and officials remain “strategically vague” about whether the U.S. military will defend Taiwan, but the “Taiwan Relations Act” stipulates that the United States is obliged to help equip Taiwan for self-defense.
The Chinese military has in the past two years increased the number of fighter and bomber drills that have broken into Taiwan’s “air defense identification zone” while crossing the center line of the strait.
In August, following a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Chinese military held a dramatic large-scale military exercise, including the first launch of ballistic missiles over Taiwan, some of which landed on Japanese-only missiles. economic area.
Responsible editor: Li Yuan#