740.0011 P.W./5–1445
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
At the President’s request, I attended this afternoon at two o’clock a meeting between the President and T. V. Soong, Foreign Minister of China. Nobody else was present.
Mr. Soong took up the following problems:
(1) Brunt of driving out Japanese forces from China by sustained effort, falls on China, hence:
(a) Continuation of military supplies to Chinese Army via India and Burma.
The President said that we had every intention of commuing these supplies.
(b) Opening up of a port on the Chinese coast to bring adequate military supplies, transports, and industrial equipment in order to strengthen Chinese economy for final war effort. It follows that appropriate Lend-Lease arrangement must be made now to [Page 102] prepare for supplies when port is opened. Which U. S. agency to apply to?
The President said that Mr. Soong should discuss this matter with Mr. Crowley39 and I suggested that Mr. Clayton40 might also be helpful. The President concurred and advised Mr. Soong to see both Mr. Clayton and Mr. Crowley.
(c) Implementation of 1943 Agreement to supply gold to check Chinese inflation.41
Mr. Soong said that he had discussed this matter with Secretary Morgenthau,42 who had suggested the use of Chinese gold in the United States, but Mr. Soong advanced various reasons why he felt this would not be practical. The President said that he was not familiar with these technical financial matters and would like to consult Secretary Morgenthau before giving Mr. Soong an answer yes or no.
(2) Arrangement, in the event of American landings, to hand over enemy-held Chinese territory and territories that under the Cairo Agreement43 are to be returned to China.
Mr. Soong produced a map of China and said that Manchuria and Formosa should be handed back to China. The President concurred.
(3) Understanding with Russia generally, and particularly if she enters war.44 Chinese internal situation.
Mr. Soong sketched the relations of the National Government with the Communists and said that the National Government would like to have the Communists join in but could do so only if the Communists recognized that the National Government was in supreme control in China. He discussed at some length the attitude of Soviet Russia, which, during the early stages of the Sino-Japanese war when China alone was holding off the Japanese forces, was very friendly and had helped the Chinese Government with a supply of arms and ammunition. This had continued for some time but latterly there had been a change and the Soviet Government seemed to be supporting the Chinese Communists rather than the National Government. Mr. Soong said he thought it very important that he should proceed to Moscow to discuss this situation with the Soviet authorities and that at the termination of the San Francisco Conference he would like to proceed first to Chungking, then to Moscow, and then back to Washington via London to report further to the President. He said that no Chinese planes were available for such a journey and he asked the President if he could have an American Army plane for this purpose. The President assented but I said that, before committing ourselves on this I would like to look into it a little further and to report further to the President. The President assented to this procedure. Mr. Soong said that the Soviets were using American planes and that, [Page 103] as for the political implications involved, he thought it would be helpful to have the Russians know that he was returning to Washington to talk to the President after the meeting in Moscow. This matter was left open.
(4) Regional security treaty for the Pacific.
Mr. Soong said that he thought it would be helpful to have a regional security pact for the Pacific but the President immediately stated categorically that in general he was opposed to such regional arrangements, as in his opinion they would tend to weaken the proposed world organization and would lead to a return to power politics. The President spoke with such emphasis in this respect that Mr. Soong did not pursue the matter.
In the course of the conversation the President said that the United States desired to see a strong, united and democratic China. Mr. Soong observed that the maintenance of Chinese sovereignty was the most important thing of all. The President concurred.
- Leo T. Crowley, administrator of the Foreign Economic Administration.↩
- William L. Clayton, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.↩
- For documentation on this subject, see pp. 1055 ff.↩
- Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury.↩
- See White House press release of December 1, 1943, Department of State Bulletin, December 4, 1943, p. 393, or Foreign Relations, Conferences at Cairo and Tehran 1943, p. 448.↩
- For documentation on this subject, see pp. 851 ff.↩