893.24/623
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)
The Chinese Ambassador82 informed me last evening that he had just received from his Government a telegram which indicated concern on the part of his Government and gave him concern regarding the flow of goods into China through French Indo-China. He said that the French Government had informed his Government that, of goods accumulated at Haiphong consigned to the Chinese Government,
- 1.
- German-made goods must be cleared out before October 25;
- 2.
- Contraband goods shipped by Chinese private merchants and firms must be cleared out before October 30;
- 3.
- Contraband goods now going forward to the Chinese Government will for the time being be permitted to pass, but a time limit will soon be determined and be announced;
- 4.
- When the new date is announced, the prohibition will include American shipments of gasoline and automotive equipment.
The Ambassador said that his Government was worried over this and wished him to ask whether something might not be done to modify the French Government’s position, as this action on the part of France would affect any negotiations for new credits and affect the huge amount of goods already accumulated in Indo-China consigned to China (which, he said, could not be cleared out in so short a time).
The Chinese Government asked urgently for an early reply.
I said to the Ambassador that it seemed to me that everything possible had already been done in regard to this matter; that I doubted whether the French Government’s “bite” would be as bad as its “bark”; that we have heard of such intended prohibitions on a number of occasions in the past but that we have seen the goods continue to flow; that it would seem to me that the Chinese Government should do everything possible to speed up the clearing out of the accumulations under reference; and that I thought that the local French authorities would probably be inclined to be liberal in the whole matter.
- Hu Shin.↩