711.933/174
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Chinese Minister asked the Secretary in the course of conversation today whether he had reached any decision with regard to the question of extraterritoriality, on which subject he had spoken some time before. The Secretary stated that he thought he had made his position on this subject quite clear to the Chinese Government in the note which had been despatched on November 1, namely, that we were prepared to discuss the question with the Chinese at their convenience with a view to the gradual relinquishment of extraterritorial rights, such relinquishment to proceed with certain steps to be taken by the Chinese in the establishment of courts and the preparation of these agencies for the protection of American rights about to be turned over to them. The Secretary [Page 627] stated that he supposed that the Chinese accepted this point of view; otherwise the Minister would not be proposing discussions. The Minister agreed, referring to the note of his Government stating that they desired to enter into discussions with a view to finding a method that would be mutually acceptable to the two countries. Naturally he realized that if it were just an expression on their side of what they wanted and an expression on our side that we would not give them what they wanted but would give them something else, that five minutes would be all that would be necessary to complete such discussion. The Secretary stated that naturally in this matter he wanted time to consider the various aspects of the question, that a number of propositions had been made. It had been proposed that relinquishment might be by geographic areas; it had also been proposed that relinquishment might be by categories of cases. He himself would naturally wish to keep himself informed of the attitude of other countries, particularly of the British with regard to this matter; also he would wish to consult the American representatives in the field who were acquainted with the situation. He told the Chinese Minister that he would have to bear with him at this time as he was very much occupied with various matters and hoped that he would discuss these matters with Mr. Johnson and bring him in whenever it might be necessary. The Chinese Minister stated that he would do this.