711.933/167
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Chinese Minister, Doctor Wu, called by appointment at 3 o’clock to say that he had received telegraphic instructions from his Government [Page 622] to inform the Secretary of State that he was prepared to take up the discussion of the abolishment of extraterritorial rights in China.
I referred to the American note of November 1, and stated that I took it for granted that in sending him these instructions his Government was prepared to accept the American proposal for the gradual abolishment of extraterritoriality. The Chinese Minister hesitated a moment and reminded me that his Government was anxious to have these rights done away with by the first of January. I said that we, of course, understood, that in our note we had stated what we were prepared to do.
I asked the Chinese Minister whether he had any formal or written communication to make. He asked me whether I expected them to make a reply to our last note. I said that I did not necessarily expect that, as long as we understood clearly the terms under which such discussions as we might have were to be conducted.
The Chinese Minister reminded me that in the last sentence of the Chinese note of September 5, the Chinese Government had made a very significant statement, as follows:
“It is with this last object in view that the Chinese Government [now] requests the American Government to enter into immediate discussions with [the] authorized representatives [representative] of the Chinese Government for making the necessary arrangement[s] whereby extraterritoriality in China will be abolished to the mutual satisfaction of both Governments.”
He emphasized the fact that they were prepared to discuss a plan that would be mutually acceptable to the two Governments. I took it that he desired me to draw the inference from this that the Chinese Government was prepared to consider the matter on the basis of the American note.
I told the Chinese Minister that it would simplify matters very much for us and for him if his Government could furnish us with some plan or some proposal to this end. He said that they had no plan nor proposal to submit but would like to see any proposal that we might care to make. I told him I felt this was a matter that could be worked out if we discussed it with good intent and a serious desire to reach an agreement under which the two countries could feel that the question of extraterritoriality would settle itself.
The Minister asked me to convey this information to the Secretary and I promised that I would.