793.94/1404

The Chargé in Japan ( Wilson ) to the Secretary of State

No. 430

Sir: Supplementing my telegram No. 215 of December 4, noon,38 I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the Foreign Office’s [Page 968] statement of December 2, 1922, regarding the agreement covering the details of the retrocession of the Leased Territory of Kiaochow to China.

A copy of this document has been sent to the Legation at Peking.

I have [etc.]

Hugh R. Wilson
[Enclosure]

Statement of the Japanese Foreign Office, December 2, 1922

The agreement covering the details of the retrocession of the Leased Territory of Kiaochow to China was signed at Peking at 1.30 p.m., December 1, by the delegates of Japan and China who are sitting in conference in that city. The principal points of the agreement are enumerated below.

In view of the importance of this welcome settlement the Japanese Government deems the present an appropriate time to state that when the Japanese Commissioners were appointed to proceed to China, immediately after the ratification of the Shantung Treaty, in June, they were instructed to negotiate with their Chinese colleagues in the same friendly and conciliatory spirit as had been shown in the negotiations of the Treaty itself.

The work of the Committee was divided between two Sino-Japanese Committees, the First Committee dealing with the administration of Kiaochow and all public properties in that Leased Territory and along the Tsingtao–Tsinanfu Railway, and the Second Committee dealing with the question of the Railway itself. It is the work of the First Committee that has been completed and put into the form of a signed documentary agreement. The Second Committee has yet to work out some minor details, but it is expected that this Committee will reach an agreement at an early date and that the Railway will be transferred to China prior to the time fixed in the Shantung Treaty, namely, March 2. The Japanese troops in Tsingtao, one battalion of approximately 500 men, and also the several hundred gendarmes or police, will be withdrawn within twenty days after the transfer of Kiaochow to China.

At the request of the Chinese Government the transfer of the Leased Territory has been postponed until December 10.

It is the earnest hope of the Japanese Government that the final settlement of this long-standing question will contribute in no small measure to the development of understanding and friendship between the two neighbouring nations. In view of the fact that the so-called Shantung question was in itself a subject of irritation and that it was made use of and exaggerated unduly by artificial propaganda, the Japanese Government is greatly relieved at this final conclusion and anticipates a new era of sympathy and cooperation, not only between [Page 969] the nations primarily concerned but also among those generally interested in the welfare of the Far East.

The following are the main points of the agreement that has been signed:—

All administrative authority in the Leased Territory of Kiaochow shall be transferred to China at noon on December 10. After this transfer all administrative powers and responsibilities, except those belonging to the Japanese Consul by virtue of treaties, conventions, and customs, shall belong to the Chinese Government.

The withdrawal of Japanese troops and gendarmes shall be completed within twenty days after the transfer of the administration.

Leases of land acquired by Japanese prior to the ratification of the Shantung Treaty may be renewed for a term of 30 years under the same conditions as those of the original leases. At the conclusion of that period further renewals of lease may be permitted, but upon terms in accord with the land regulations governing the Open Port of Tsingtao. Any leases granted after the exchange of ratifications of the Shantung Treaty shall be cancelled by the Japanese authorities.

Properties for the use of the Japanese Consul and bodies of Japanese residents, including the building of the Consulate, the official residence of the Consul-General, the building of the present Post Department, the official residence of the director of Civil Administration, et cetera, are to be retained by Japan.

Japan may purchase salt from the salt works of Tsingtao to the extent of between one hundred million and three hundred and fifty million Kin a year for a period of fifteen years beginning in 1923. When the said term shall have expired negotiations may be entered into for an extension of this privilege of purchase.

Of the amount of compensation, namely, sixteen million yen, to be paid by China for the transfer of public properties and the salt industry, a sum of two million yen shall be paid in cash within one month of the transfer of the administration. The remaining fourteen million yen is to be paid in Treasury Bills, to be issued at par value, for a term of fifteen years, and bearing interest at the rate of 6 percent.

A committee chosen from among Japanese and Chinese capitalists shall undertake the task of establishing a Company for operating the mines along the Railway. When this Company has been organized by permission of the Chinese Government the mines and appurtenant properties shall be transferred to the Company. The Company shall be under joint Chinese and Japanese management and its capital shall be subscribed in equal portions, half and half. The manner in which the Company shall pay the Japanese Government for the mines is to be decided between the Government and the Company, the cost being fixed at five million yen.

  1. Not printed.