811.003 Wallace, Henry A./49
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Vincent) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary: The attached telegram11 is necessitated by the prematurely forced statement by the Vice President regarding his possible visit to China and by the unauthorized and obviously baseless press interpretation of the visit.
The Vice President telephoned Mr. Vincent at noon today and it was agreed that a statement to the Chinese authorities in Chungking was required. Subsequently the Vice President approved the statement contained in the attached telegram.
In response to an inquiry this morning from the Chinese Chargé12 here, Mr. Vincent informed him along the lines of the attached telegram. The Chargé asked whether we had communicated the Vice President’s plans to the Chinese Government. He was told that we had not but that we would probably do so and that when we had he would be informed.