893.00/11–1946: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:30 p.m.]
1908. When Chou En-lai called on General Marshall to inform him that he wished to return to Yenan and to ask for transportation, he said that his trip should not be interpreted as action on his part to break off the negotiations but rather that he was going back for a short time for instructions and reorientation. He added that he was leaving Tung Pi-wu as head of the delegation of some 40 Communists in Nanking and 10 in Shanghai and that he hoped the negotiations could be resumed before long.
In distinction to the above, Chou has [on] two separate occasions during the last few days told American correspondents that his return to Yenan does, in fact, constitute a termination of negotiations.39
- For public statement issued by General Chou on November 16, see United States Relations With China, p. 683.↩