893.24/824
The Chinese Embassy to the Department of State71
The Chinese Ambassador has the honor to submit for the consideration of the Secretary of State the request of the Chinese Government for the supply of a number of 75-mm field guns which have been held in reserve by the American Government since the World War and are understood now to be available for disposal as surplus stock.
In making this request the Chinese Government is encouraged by the announcement that under a ruling of the Attorney General the prohibition on sale of surplus war materials to foreign countries engaged in armed conflict has been removed, as well as by the fact that the American Government has increasingly demonstrated its readiness to extend positive aid to states which are victims of unwarranted aggression.
It is the belief of the Chinese Government that in these three years of war of resistance, China has been bearing the brunt of the world’s [Page 660] fight against lawlessness and aggression, and may therefore in that sense be regarded as aligned and fighting on the side of the democracies in their common struggle against the forces of violence and anarchy in international life. It is in this belief that the Chinese Government constantly looks to the United States as a friendly source of supplies.
It is estimated that an immediate requirement of the Chinese army is for 540 or 720 75-mm field guns. These weapons are urgently needed in order to enable the Chinese armed forces to continue effectively to resist the onslaught of the heavily-equipped Japanese military machine, especially at the present crucial time when other sources of supply have, since the outbreak of the war in Europe, been closed to China.
The Chinese Government will be grateful if the American Government will be so good as to add to its past assistance by acceding to the above request. It further hopes that the American Government, in view of China’s present financial situation, will also take into consideration the possibility of releasing these surplus arms and munitions in the form of a loan or under some other credit arrangement.
- Handed to the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck) by the Chinese Ambassador on June 7.↩