793.94/8335: Telegram

The Counselor of Embassy in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State

326. My 325, November 10, 1 p.m. Japanese Embassy has informed news representatives that the interview yesterday dealt with proposals as a whole and although no specific agreement was reached the viewpoints of the two parties were perceptibly closer. Suma has informed one American press representative since his return from Japan that he found the Chinese leaders had passed through their mood of self-confidence and uncompromising rejection of Japanese proposals and were again taking the proposals seriously. Suma thought this change might have been occasioned by his warning to them not as an unlooked for but as a plain fact that if these negotiations terminated through futility an incident might occur which could not be handled diplomatically.

Sent to Peiping.

Peck