893.24/848
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The British Ambassador called at his request. He inquired whether this Government, in connection with the British agreement with Japan regarding the Burma road, would be disposed to assist by making some statement about the difficult situation the British are in and their purpose to develop some permanent understandings of a generally useful character. I promptly discouraged any such idea and referred to my other talk with him on July 12 about the Burma road.
I also said that with respect to efforts to bring about any improvement in the relations between Japan and China, about which the British were talking, this Government, as I had often said to the Ambassador, has kept entirely separate and apart from other governments in dealing with such matters; that it maintained its entire freedom of action; and when taking steps in the nature of collaboration it acted along parallel lines, and not jointly with other governments.