Jamie Dimon says China isn’t America’s biggest threat. It’s ‘the enemy within’

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sounded a warning Friday on the fractious US relationship with China — and on “the enemy within.”

“China is a potential adversary — they’re doing a lot of things well, they have a lot of problems,” Dimon said at the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, California. “But what I really worry about is us. Can we get our own act together — our own values, our own capability, our own management.”

Dimon’s comments come as President Donald Trump’s tarrifs have sharply cut into trade between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies. Trump’s trade policy has whipsawed through different tariff levels and has also been caught up in court decisions, adding more uncertainty to what has become a testy relationship affecting economies around the world.

Dimon also warned that the standoff with China — which escalated Friday after Trump claimed Beijing “totally violated” its latest trade agreement — will not back down.

“They’re not scared, folks. This notion they’re gonna come bow to America, I wouldn’t count on that,” Dimon said.

Dimon said he agreed with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet that America is “normalcy resilient” but that this time is different.

“We have to get our act together,” Dimon said. “We have to do it very quickly.”

He added that the United States has a “mismanagement” issue. He called on fixing permitting, regulations, immigration, taxation, inner city school and the health care system. If those things are fixed, Dimon said, the country could grow 3% a year.

“What you heard today on stage was the amount of mismanagement is extraordinary. By state, by city, for pensions … and that stuff is going to kill us,” Dimon said, referencing comments made by earlier panelists at the forum.

The United States government deficit stood at about $2 trillion in 2024, or roughly 7% of gross domestic product, according to a June 2024 report by the Congressional Budget Office. If the country enters a recession, “that 7% will be 10%,” he added.

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This story has been updated with additional content.