893.50 Recovery/6–2748: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 27–—8:21 a.m.]
1168. Embassy most grateful Deptel 930, June 26 and appreciates comprehensive and expeditious replies forthcoming from Department to its messages.
Reconstituted draft (Deptels 920 and 921, June 24 and related cable correspondence) presented and discussed June 27 in day-long conference with Tung Ling.46 Embassy secured preliminary approval entire draft except articles III and IV. In order achieve this, Embassy revealed all concessions with exception contraction original preamble and deletion verbatim extract from section 402 of act. Latter of great importance to Chinese as a matter of face and reserved for possible rough going later.
Re exchange of notes Foreign Office greatly relieved deletion Japan and may well be possible secure exchange this basis. However Foreign Office made strong plea for additional deletion of reference to southern Korea which is so closely related in Chinese mind to Japanese Empire. Embassy supports Foreign Office’s request delete southern Korea particularly in view Department’s agreement elimination in UK and French notes (Deptel 931, June 26) which lack geographic continuity and emotional violence. Embassy requests authorization, if necessary, accede this point.
Re Article III, Foreign Office argued in strongest terms that paragraph 1 was maximum Chinese Government could accept. Paragraph 2 and particularly paragraph 3 are according to Chinese point of view humiliating—Embassy held firm and only agreed (1) report this view to Department and (2) transmit any substitute language Foreign Office might concoct which would retain substance.
Re article IV, Embassy encountered strong resistance but has not lost hope of securing agreement to article unchanged. Authorization requested in Embtel 1165, June 27 would, however, be most helpful.
Sent Department 1168, repeated Shanghai 538.
- Director of American Affairs Department, Foreign Office.↩