893.248/208½
The Department of State to the Chinese Embassy22
During recent months the Department has received from many sources a variety of broad statements on the subject of Soviet Russian-Chinese relations and especially the subject of Soviet aid to China. Scrutiny of Chinese statements alone discloses great discrepancy and some plain contradictions. Department would welcome the most authoritative information possible on these points: Has Russian material aid to China been during recent months effectively suspended or discontinued; if not, in what respects has such aid been given; is material aid moving now from Soviet Russia to China; if so, in what forms and amounts; what are the prospects in this field for the future.
We realize that the highest Chinese authorities may be reluctant to give information on these points, and we do not wish unduly to press the matter; but in view of the conflicting character of information which has come to us from many sources both official and unofficial and of statements which are publicly current in this country, we feel that it would be helpful to us to have a more certain understanding of the facts than is now ours.
- The Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck) and the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton) spoke in the sense of this oral statement in conversation with the Chinese Ambassador (Hu Shih) and Dr. Soong on December 4 and asked them to inform their Government “of our hope that we might be better informed on the subject of Soviet aid to China.”↩