893.6359 Wolfram Ore/67
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in China (Johnson)
Sir: Reference is made to the Embassy’s despatch no. 217 of May 27, 1939, enclosing a translation of a note from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs97 in reply to the Embassy’s protest against the granting to a foreign firm of an exclusive sales agency for Chinese wolfram ore, and to the Embassy’s despatch no. 221 of May 29, 1939, enclosing a further communication from the Foreign Office97 in regard to this matter.
The Department is of the opinion that for the time being no acknowledgment should be made of the Foreign Office communications of May 18 and May 24, 1939, but it is felt that developments should be followed closely in order that appropriate action may be taken should the activities of the Peking Syndicate under the terms of its contract with the National Resources Commission prove inimical to American interests. The Department therefore desires that the Embassy report fully and promptly to the Department all pertinent information in this connection which it may be able to obtain and that it instruct the appropriate consular officers in China and Hong Kong similarly to report.
Very truly yours,