893.51/7050
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)
Mr. Morishima, Counselor of the Japanese Embassy, called at his request, the appointment having been postponed from yesterday due to Mr. Morishima’s indisposition with a cold.
After mentioning two other matters (covered by separate memoranda46), Mr. Morishima asked whether conversations were going on relating to the extension of a further credit by this Government to China. I replied that as Mr. Morishima had undoubtedly noted from press reports the Federal Loan Administrator, Mr. Jesse Jones, had informed various committees of Congress during the consideration by those committees of a bill to increase the funds available to the Export-Import Bank that conversations were in progress with representatives of the Chinese Government who wished to obtain additional credits. I said also that the last reference to this matter which I had noted was a statement by Mr. Jones several days ago when he announced that the Export-Import Bank had allocated funds for loans to Finland, Sweden and Norway, at which time Mr. Jones said that the Chinese Government wished to obtain additional funds. Mr. Morishima then said with a smile that he thought that his Government would wish to express to this Government the view that the extension of such a credit to the Chiang Kai-shek government would not be advisable or appropriate. I immediately informed Mr. Morishima that as he would have noted from press reports of the discussions in Congress of the bill providing additional funds for the Export-Import Bank, the function of the Export-Import Bank was to facilitate the carrying on of commercial relations between the United States and other countries; that if any third government should approach this Government in reference to the question of the Export-Import Bank’s extending a credit to a particular foreign country, this Government would, in view of the fact that the Export-Import Bank functioned as an agency for the facilitation of American commerce, [Page 644] regard any approach by a third country as having no warrantable basis; and that this Government would therefore reject any such approach. Mr. Morishima remarked, again with a smile, that the Chiang Kai-shek government had become only a local regime. I replied emphatically that I was certain that Mr. Morishima and his Government would agree that it was a matter solely for the determination of the Government of the United States as to what government of China it should recognize; and that this Government recognized as the Government of China the National Government of the Republic of China.
At the outset of the conversation, Mr. Morishima said that he was calling on his own initiative and not under instruction from his Government. Toward the end of the conversation recorded above, I inquired whether I had understood Mr. Morishima correctly that he was not calling under instruction, and he repeated that he was calling on his own initiative and not under instruction.