711.93/184a
The Secretary of State to President Coolidge
Dear Mr. President: You will remember that on January 27, 1927, I made a statement of the attitude and policies of the United States in reference to treaty negotiations. I enclose you a copy.73 You will notice from the third paragraph that I stated in substance that the United States was prepared to negotiate with any government of China or delegates who can represent or speak for China. This has been our policy from that day to the present.
During Mr. MacMurray’s visit here last autumn we discussed in great detail the plan of negotiating a tariff treaty which would release China from tariff control in so far as the United States is concerned but whereby China should receive tariff autonomy on condition that both the United States and China would each enjoy, in the territories of the other, treatment in no way discriminatory as compared with the treatment accorded to any other country. It seemed to me, since the consolidation of the Nationalist authorities in China, that the time had come when we should be prepared to make good our promise and take up negotiations if the Nationalist authorities were willing. With that in view I telegraphed instructions to Mr. MacMurray on June 23, 1928, a paraphrase of which I enclose.74
Mr. MacMurray has had some conversations with the Nationalist authorities but nothing definite has occurred. In the meantime the press, to a considerable extent in this country, has been calling on the United States to take action for the recognition of the present Chinese government and that we enter into negotiations for the revision of the treaty. I am of the opinion that the time has come when we should make some statement of our position, and then if the Chinese authorities are prepared, we will first go ahead with the tariff negotiations, which are comparatively simple, and afterwards take up the revision of the other treaties which will be more difficult and require much time and also a consideration of the facts in relation to extraterritoriality which I will not stop to discuss at this time.
I have telegraphed to Mr. MacMurray that this is the plan and I have prepared a suggestion for a statement to be made, and unless Mr. MacMurray sees some controlling reason to the contrary I propose to make this statement in the near future, first notifying the [Page 456] interested governments of our intention. I enclose you a copy of the statement.75 I do not see that we can be in any way prejudiced. We stand pledged to the release of tariff control and if China guarantees us equal treatment under a treaty I do not think we can suffer. One thing is sure, tariff control of China is doomed. Whether the present government is going to evolve into a stable civil government of course I can not say, but I think any encouragement which can be given it by the world powers will strengthen their hands in dealing with the enormously difficult domestic problems.
I should be glad to have your views as to whether this program is approved. I wish this at present to be strictly confidential as the press are constantly questioning me about what we are going to do in China and I have refrained from making statements.
Faithfully yours,
- See telegram No. 28, Jan. 25, 1927, to the Chargé in China, Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. ii, p. 350.↩
- See telegram No. 202, p. 449.↩
- See telegram No. 218, July 11, to the Minister in China, supra.↩