893.5151/457: Telegram
The Consul General at Tientsin (Caldwell) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:05 a.m.]
The attorney for the National City Bank in Tientsin has requested that the following matter be brought to the attention of the Embassy with a view to the issuance of appropriate instructions to the Consulates in North China and Shanghai in the event that unduly oppressive exchange, import or export restrictions are imposed in those areas: The Bank understands that the Chinese National Government has imposed excessive restrictions on export trade at Hankow and Canton under which export licenses are required and that these licenses cannot be obtained without production of proof that the exchange has been negotiated through the Central Bank of China. The bank fears that if such restrictions are imposed by the Chinese National Government similar restrictions will be imposed by the de facto governments in North China and Shanghai and that if no protest is made in Hankow it will be difficult to oppose such action by the de facto governments, and considers it highly desirable that the Embassy point out to the National Government the undesirability of such discriminatory regulations and endeavor to have the matter adjusted.
Sent to Hankow and Peiping.