122.352/57
The Secretary of State to the Minister in China (Johnson)
Sir: The Department refers to your despatch No. 470, September 18, 1930, in regard to the issuance by the Chinese Government of [Page 635] exequaturs to American consular officers in China, in which it is stated that, pending further instructions from the Department, no acknowledgment of the receipt of such exequaturs will be made by the Legation.
The Department concurs in this decision of the Legation, believing that for the time being it will be better to follow such procedure until some particular occasion arises when the Chinese Government refuses to recognize the official capacity of an American consular officer in China. The Department has already stated in its telegram to the Legation, No. 23, January 20, 1930, 6 p.m., that it is not aware of any convincing objections from a technical standpoint which can be raised against the procedure outlined in the note of September 23, 1929, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the American Minister.10 This procedure does not appear to be in conflict with that provided for in the last paragraph of Article II of the Sino-American Treaty of 1903.11
It is also to be noted that the treaty provision between China and the United States in respect to the appointment of consular officers is somewhat different from those found in the treaties of the other powers which still enjoy extraterritorial jurisdiction in China. The British,12 French13 and Dutch14 treaties are not so specific in regard to exequaturs as is the treaty of 1903 of the United States, or the treaty of 1881 of Brazil,15 the last-named treaty going so far as to permit the Chinese Government to revoke an exequatur, if the consular officer conducts himself in any illegal manner. The treaty position of the American Government in this respect is such as to prevent it from acting in complete accord with certain of the other extraterritorial powers if those powers should deny the right of the Chinese authorities to insist upon the issuing of exequaturs to consular officers as a necessary condition to their functioning in China.
If, however, the Chinese authorities, after due notice to them as provided for in the final paragraph of Article II of the Sino-American Treaty of 1903, refuse to recognize the official capacity of an American consular officer in China, the Department desires to be informed immediately by telegraph of the circumstances and of the Legation’s views in the matter.
Very truly yours,
- Not printed.↩
- Signed at Shanghai, October 8, 1903; Foreign Relations, 1903, p. 91.↩
- Signed at Tientsin, June 26, 1858; see art. VII, British and Foreign State Papers, vol. xlviii, pp. 47, 49.↩
- Signed June 27, 1858; see art. V, ibid., vol. li, pp. 637, 639.↩
- Signed at Tientsin, October 6, 1863; see art. I, ibid., vol. lx, p. 766.↩
- Signed at Tientsin, October 3, 1881; see art. III, ibid., vol. lxxii, pp. 560, 561.↩