711.93/2–747
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Consul General at Harbin (Clubb)23
| Present: | General Li Ch’u-li (Senior Communist representative, Advance Section Executive Headquarters), Colonel Jacobs-Larkcom (British Consul designate for Harbin), Mr. Clubb. |
General Li, after remarking that the Communists were desirous of maintaining good relations with foreigners, said with particular reference to Sino-American relations that, although the Communists had found reason to criticise American supply of arms to the National Government, the return of General Marshall to the United States was a development which very probably was significant in this regard, and it was to be hoped that a change in American policy would follow.
I observed that, generally speaking, the matter of maintenance of good relations was of importance for any people or group of people, that good relations were of course important for the Communists also, that matters such as the Communist refusal to permit me to proceed to Harbin to take up my post for instance were given publicity in the United States and had their reaction and caused people to think why such a thing should be. I said that, as far as General Marshall’s mission went, there was universal praise of his efforts on behalf of peace in China, and that if there was failure of his efforts it was a Chinese failure to reach a solution and perhaps the mission was beyond the capacity of any man to perform: if the Chinese could select a better man to put forward as mediator, they were of course quite entitled to do so, and we would gladly give way. The Great Powers, including the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France and China, were at the present time engaged in endeavoring to eliminate war and bring about the establishment and the construction of political machinery which would eliminate warfare from the world and substitute peaceful cooperation in its stead. History would show, I said, that the United States had been consistently friendly toward [Page 18] China, and what we hoped for China was peace—which was what we and other nations were working for elsewhere. General Li said that there were particular things which had occurred of late which tended to injure good Sino-American relations, and he mentioned as example the Peiping rape case. I said that it was truly regrettable, but that it should not be viewed too seriously: in general American military discipline was good, but in every army—as for instance with the Soviet troops in Manchuria—there were occasionally indisciplined acts, but that with us such acts would be duly punished. General Li did not pursue the subject.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in China in his despatch No. 480, February 7; received February 17.↩