711.933/214
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
In the course of conversation today the Chinese Minister stated to the Secretary that he felt that he was not making any great progress in his conversations with Mr. Johnson on the subject of extraterritoriality. The Secretary stated to the Chinese Minister that he had been told by Mr. Johnson of his conversation with the Minister; that Mr. Johnson had explained that the Minister had stated that the Chinese Government was interested in abolishment of extraterritoriality and had no means short of that end to suggest. The Secretary stated that he felt sure that the Minister and also his Government understood quite clearly the basis on which we were ready to discuss the question, all of which has been very clearly outlined in his note to the Minister’s Government, and he wondered whether the Minister was authorized to discuss on that basis. He said that he felt that if he was authorized to discuss on that basis it ought to be possible for him and for Mr. Johnson, as two men of good intentions and with a keen knowledge of the conditions in China, to reach some conclusions that might lead to results. The Minister stated that he was authorized to consider the abolishment of extraterritoriality according to some method that would be mutually acceptable to the two Governments; that he felt that Mr. Johnson was freer in this matter than he was and that he hoped that Mr. Johnson would be able to offer him something that could be discussed. The Secretary stated that he thought that the Minister ought to be able to forget the details and get down to the possibilities. The Secretary asked Mr. Johnson whether he had spoken to the Minister about the several ways that had been under consideration, whether by geographic areas or categories of cases and Mr. Johnson said that he had. The Secretary expressed the hope that the Chinese Minister and Mr. Johnson would find it possible to discuss frankly these questions and lead to some conclusion that they could work upon.