J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) recently joined an expanding group of firms withdrawing from Russia in response to their invasion of Ukraine.
The company, along with Goldman Sachs, announced its withdrawal from Russia March 10, according to a Reuters report.
"In compliance with directives by governments around the world, we have been actively unwinding Russian business and have not been pursuing any new business in Russia," JPM said in a statement. "JPM has limited all current activities, is helping global clients address and closeout pre-existing obligations, manage Russian-related risk, act as a custodian to clients, and taking care of its employees."
Prior to its withdrawal, JPM was the second largest provider of investment banking services in Russia in 2021, making $32.8 million, according to Reuters. VTB Capital, a Russian bank, was the only firm to outperform JPM in the country.
However, JPM is continuing to increase investments in China despite widespread criticism of the country's human rights violations.
Daniel Pinto, JPM chief operating officer, stated in an interview with Nikkei Asia, that the company is looking to grow its investments in China given its potential.
"China is a country that will continue to be relevant for years to come," Pinto said. "What we are doing is continuing to gradually invest in a very prudent way; It would be unwise for us not to invest in China given the size of the country and the potential.”
Pinto stressed JPM’s investment will be small in relation to the size of China.
"We will do it at a conservative pace to make sure that we don't take risks that are unacceptable," he said.
The violation of human rights has been an ongoing issue in China, with the government being accused by some of perpetrating genocide against its citizens, most recently the Uyghurs who live in the Xinjiang region, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Approximately 200 human rights groups signed an open letter to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, March 8, demanding she produce a report on China's continuous human rights violations.
According to the letter, which was published by Human Rights Watch, the UN's acknowledgment of the crimes perpetrated by the Chinese regime cannot be ignored any longer.
Nearly 40 nations, mostly from the West, urged China in 2021 to grant the UN and other independent researchers "immediate, meaningful, and unhindered access to Xinjiang," according to a report by the WSJ.
However, Beijing insists that reports of genocide against the Uyghurs are "the lie of the century," the report stated.
JPM has conducted business with China since 1921, according to the company's website.
"Our integrated financial services include investment and corporate banking, payments, markets, sales and research, securities services, commercial banking and asset management,” the website states.