“Defying U.S., China and Russia Set the Tone for a Cold, New Era,” the New York Times reported in a front-page story today. Consider, however, this news item from just two days earlier: China Merchants Bank, one of China’s largest financial institutions, announced that JPMorgan Asset Management (Asia Pacific) would pay $415 million for a 10% stake in its wealth management arm. Likewise, the U.S. led the world in its number of billionaires on the 2020 Forbes Billionaires List, but mainland China has been quickly closing the gap. On Thursday, the New York Stock Exchange listing by Tuya minted a new geek billionaire from China that once worked for yet another mainland tech success story – Alibaba. JPMorgan’s investment underscores the contradictory impulses in the U.S. toward China.

Source: Forbes March 21, 2021 16:20 UTC