893.51/6584
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Welles) of a Conversation With the Counselor of the Chinese Embassy (Ing)
Owing to the absence in New York of the Chinese Ambassador, I asked the Counselor of the Embassy to come to see me this morning. I told Dr. Ing that on January 5 the British Ambassador in Washington had advised me that he had just received a cable from Mr. Eden informing him of a conversation which Mr. Eden had had on January 3 with the Chinese Ambassador in London. The latter had stated that the Chinese Government was negotiating with the United States Government for a loan of 125 million dollars for ten years at 3 per cent to be issued at 90. I told Dr. Ing that on the following day I had been further informed by the British Ambassador that he had been advised by Mr. Eden of a further conversation which the latter had had on January 5 with the Chinese Ambassador in London in which the latter had said that an agreement had been signed in Washington for a loan of 150 million dollars but that the Ambassador could not say definitely whether the United States Government were concerned or not.
I told Dr. Ing that after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury80 I had informed the British Ambassador that no conversations, no negotiations, and no agreement for a loan had taken place between the United States and the Chinese Governments. I said to Dr. Ing that undoubtedly some strange misapprehension and misunderstanding had occurred and that since we wanted, of course, to avoid any type of misunderstanding with the Chinese Government, it seemed to me that it would be helpful if the Chinese Embassy here would communicate with the Chinese Ambassador in London and let him know that there was no foundation for the information which [Page 524] he had conveyed to the British Foreign Secretary in so far as the United States Government was concerned.
Dr. Ing told me that he would immediately communicate our conversation to the Chinese Ambassador and ask that the latter take the action with regard to his colleague in London which I had suggested.
- Henry Morgenthau, Jr.↩