611.9331/134: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in China (MacMurray)
39. Reference your 67, January 29, 7 p.m. The Department’s 36, January 28, 6 p.m., was not intended to suggest complete reliance on oral assurances by the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs, but instead on the phraseology of the treaty itself in addition to those assurances. While the written communication falls far short of the sort of statement which the Department desires, it is not inconsistent, insofar as it goes, with the treaty. The Department merely wishes Dr. Wang to be informed of its understanding of the treaty’s meaning, so that correspondence may cease at that point.