893.00/9945
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Chinese Minister came to see the Secretary this morning during diplomatic hour and he stated that about noon on May 8 he had sent a telegram to his Foreign Office at Peking asking whether they would have any objection to his making a proposal to both Northern and Southern factions in China that they reach some kind of a peaceful settlement of their differences, with a view to showing a united front. He explained that he had for some time been wondering what he might do to help the situation and that he had finally determined to do this. He said that yesterday (May 9) he had a telegram in reply, expressing approval on the part of the Foreign Office at Peking and that he had at once sent off a telegram to the Southern Government at Nanking. He said, therefore, that he had been somewhat surprised to see in the papers of last evening the announcement that Chang Tso-Lin had issued a circular telegram calling for a peaceful settlement of the difficulties between himself and the Southern Government. He expressed himself as being somewhat uncertain as to the motives which had led Chang Tso-Lin to send this circular telegram, although he seemed to have no doubt that it was inspired by his message. He asked the Secretary whether the Secretary thought that he was taking the right track. The Secretary said that he could not tell just what must be done in the Chinese situation, but that he did feel that any step in the direction of peace was a right one and that if he failed, his failure would be no discredit to him. The Chinese Minister said that he had been thinking for some time of what might be done in the present situation and that it occurred to him that if the United States could call a conference of the powers for the purpose of negotiating with the Chinese on the several questions, such a conference to take place next fall, that it would be a very valuable thing to do. He referred to the fact that the Chinese had been promised tariff autonomy on January 1, 1929, and he thought that if this conference could work out something in connection with that, it would be very valuable and would avoid confusion of negotiations next January. The Secretary said he did not know what attitude the powers would take toward such a proposal. He asked the Minister what matters he thought the conference would take up; that after all there were a multitude of matters in which there was no common interest for all powers at the same time and in the same way. The Minister stated that this of course was true, but that questions concerning concessions, leased territories, et cetera, could [Page 142] be left to be settled outside of the conference. He likened the situation in China today to the situation in Turkey prior to the Lausanne Conference39 when Turkey was facing a conflict between the Nationalist Government and the Government in Constantinople over questions between herself and the powers and the Greek army that: then occupied portions of Turkish territory. Apparently he had in mind a conference along the lines of the Lausanne Conference for the purpose of dealing with Chinese matters.
The Secretary referred to his statement of January, 1927, and stated that that set forth the position of the United States on these matters then and now. He stated that it seemed to him it might be wiser and better to have a conference in China and he asked the Chinese Minister whether he did not think this would be the case. The Chinese Minister stated that he differed with the Secretary on this point as there are two factions in China, one the Shanghai faction, and that it would be very difficult to have a successful conference there. The Minister was asked whether the existence of two factions in China would not make it equally difficult to have a successful conference in Washington as both factions would quarrel over the results of such a conference, both during its sitting and after it had completed its labors. The Minister stated that he did not think that this would be a difficult matter, although he admitted that such a faction would cause some difficulty perhaps at the beginning, but he thought that once the conference had settled on a thing the faction would accept it.
The Minister said his idea would be that the Secretary should sound out the powers ahead of time on the proposition of a conference. The Secretary said that of course he hadn’t given any consideration to such a proposition as that and he would naturally like to think it over, but he believed that before anything could be accomplished, there must be a stabilization in China and that the Minister should labor to that end first.
The Chinese Minister expressed some doubt as to Japanese plans in Tsinan. The Secretary stated that in the course of a conversation which he had had with the Japanese Ambassador, the Ambassador having come in to state that further reinforcements were being sent to join the forces already despatched to Shantung to protect Japanese life and property, had said that the sending of these troops did not in any way indicate any change in the previously announced policy of the Japanese Government, which was to withdraw all of these troops as soon as the safety of Japanese citizens was assured.