893.5151/641
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)
The Chinese Ambassador called at his request and handed me the attached translation of a cablegram of July 18 from the Chinese Minister of Finance63 in regard to the question of foreign exchange confronting the Chinese Government. The Ambassador said that he had given a copy of this telegram to Dr. Buck, a representative of the Treasury Department in China who is now in Washington.
With regard to the statements made in the second paragraph of the telegram to the effect that American banks and other concerns have purchased a large part of the foreign exchange sold recently, I told the Ambassador that our Embassy at Chungking had reported the receipt by it of communications from the Chinese Government containing similar statements. I said also that on occasions when inquiry had been made at Shanghai the replies made by the American concerns did not confirm the information communicated by the Chinese authorities.
When the Ambassador pressed me for comment in regard to the statements made in the last paragraph of the telegram from the Chinese Minister of Finance, I said that I would be lacking in frankness if I should lead him to expect an encouraging reply; that as the Ambassador would readily appreciate this was a very difficult matter; and that we would of course study the whole subject.
There then followed conversation of a general character.
- Infra.↩