701.6593/18a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in China (Johnson)79
311. 1. On September 25 the First Secretary of the Italian Embassy called at the Department and stated that he was under instruction from his Foreign Office to inform us in confidence that the Italian Government had decided to raise its legation in Peiping to the grade of embassy. He said that no reasons or explanation were given. To inquiry whether his Government was informing other governments most concerned, the First Secretary replied that he assumed so. The Chief of the Far Eastern Division made comment to the effect that the Chinese have frequently requested of various governments this move and governments most concerned have conferred inter se; Italian Embassy has several times previously discussed such requests with the Department; and there has been an informal working understanding among the various foreign offices that if any government seriously contemplated taking this step it would first consult with the others.
2. Under date September 26 the Ambassador at Rome telegraphed that the undoubted real reason for the decision of the Italian Government is the influence of Ciano, at present Italian Under Secretary for Press and Propaganda, whose pro-Chinese sympathies are outspoken; that Ciano’s attitude and influence and his intimacy with Chang Hsueh-liang probably had a direct bearing upon the friendly reception accorded in Italy to the Chinese Aviation Commission and upon Italian activity in China in aviation matters; and that in addition to this personnel factor there is the background of Italy’s opposition to Japan based on Japanese aggression in the Far East and Japan’s economic penetration in markets throughout the world where Italy competes.
3. The Department is informed that the press in Italy has carried items in regard to the Italian Government’s decision with favorable comment thereon.
4. Repeat to Nanking and Tokyo as Dep[artmen]t’s 35 and 167 respectively.
- See last paragraph for instructions to repeat to Nanking and Tokyo as Department’s Nos. 35 and 167, respectively.↩