711.933/240
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Chinese Minister called upon me today and referred to the proposal with regard to extraterritoriality which I handed to him on December 21. He stated that he had a counter proposal to make to us and handed to me the attached copy. He asked me whether there was any comment I had to make and I said it seemed to me that this proposal did nothing but state that American citizens should come under the jurisdiction of Chinese laws. He pointed out that the provision in paragraph one did not stipulate as to the instrumentality that was to enforce the laws. I gathered from what he told me that he wanted this to read that we agreed somewhat as the British have done, that January 1 should mark the time from which in principle Chinese laws and regulations should apply to American citizens.
I asked him what was meant by paragraph two stating that we could not, of course, agree to any stipulation that at the end of three months, or any other particular period as short as that, we would turn American citizens over to the jurisdiction of Chinese courts. He said that the meaning of this provision was that during the period, which he himself thought should be longer than the three months stipulated, the two Governments would complete their negotiations for the relinquishment of extraterritorial privileges. He felt that this should be accomplished and that the entire relinquishment should take place before the end of the four years still remaining in the life of our present treaty.
With regard to paragraph three, he stated that of course American nationals were protected by their present treaty. He intimated that there was a great deal of prejudice in China against the ordinary most-favored-nation clause.
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