793.94/16010
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The Ambassador of China called in company with Dr. T. V. Soong, presumably for the latter to pay his respects. I served with him for six weeks at the London conference in 1933.
In answer to questions he said that his country had lost some 2,000,000 men and the Japanese 750,000 since the outbreak of the fighting on July 7, 1937. He said that his country was sustaining [Page 378] itself and thoroughly disposed to continue the fight; that it was a serious matter, however, to note the obstruction by the French of the Hainan road and the entire passage through Indochina, leaving only the Burma road under control of the British and the road from Russia through Outer Mongolia. I inquired whether the Russians will continue to aid the Chinese and he said that from time to time they aided them mainly with airplanes which they purchased on a rather long-term credit, and that he thought Russia would aid them in the future.
I inquired whether in his judgment the British would yield to Japanese demands to shut out the transportation of Chinese war supplies from Rangoon across to China, and he expressed himself in the negative. He thought it very important for this Government, in that connection, to indicate in some suitable emphatic way the interest of this Government in the British position. He said that they only had a very limited number of airplanes for fighting purposes, while the Japanese had many, but that each day near Chungking the few Chinese planes go up and bring down an average of two or three Japanese planes. He stated that Japan at present had no notion of any peace settlement short of general domination of China.