761.93/1556
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 27.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatch No. 3621 of June 17, 1935, regarding political conditions in Sinkiang, and to enclose a copy of despatch No. L–720 Diplomatic of June 27, 1935, from the Legation at Nanking.11 It will be observed that, according to that despatch, the Soviet Ambassador to China confirmed the existence of a treaty signed between Sinkiang and Soviet Russia in 1931 and stated that the text as published in China was correct. The despatch also records the recent news report that Ma Chung-ying had arrived in Shanghai by ’plane: the Reuter report as printed in the local press gave Tientsin, instead of Peiping, as General Ma’s point of embarkation.
It may be remarked, in connection with the general subject of Sino-Soviet relations, that the Soviet Military Attaché at Peiping, Mr. E. Lepine, recently informed the American Military Attaché that Ambassador Bogomoloff after his return to China had given categorical assurance to Chiang Kai-shek personally that 1) the Soviet Union was not in the least contemplating territorial expansion at the expense of China generally or Sinkiang in particular, and 2) the Soviet Union would support any leader in Sinkiang that the Chinese National Government might designate, provided that such leader would follow a policy of resistance to Japanese penetration of that area.
Respectfully yours,
- Latter not printed.↩