893.51/6850
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)
Mr. Tsui of the Chinese Embassy called at his request. He left with me the attached memorandum of March 2364 in regard to a decision reached by the Chinese Government relating to the future service of salt-secured debts.
Mr. Tsui said that the Chinese Minister of Finance made the request that the Department forward copies of the memorandum to the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council and to J. P. Morgan and Company65 and that the Department use its influence toward obtaining acceptance of the proposal outlined in the memorandum.
I said that we would study the contents of the memorandum. I inquired also whether it was not a fact that in regard to negotiations of several years ago relating to the Chinese Government’s salt-secured [Page 824] debts to American creditors, the negotiations had been conducted directly by the Chinese Government with the American creditors or their representatives; in other words, the State Department had not acted as an intermediary. Mr. Tsui replied that it was his recollection that the negotiations had been carried on directly between the Chinese Government and the interested Americans or their representatives.
Mr. Tsui said that the salt-secured debts in so far as American nationals were concerned were the Hukuang loan, the Continental and Commercial Bank loan, and the Pacific Development loan.