711.93/473
The Ambassador in China ( Gauss ) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 19.]
Sir: With reference to the Department’s telegram no. Ill of May 31,82 quoting the texts of letters exchanged between Dr. Quo Tai-chi, Foreign Minister designate of China, and the Secretary of State,83 on the subject of Sino-American relations and American special treaty rights in China, I have the honor to enclose copy82 of a memorandum of a conversation I had on the afternoon of June 2 with Dr. Hsu Mo, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who disclosed that the Chinese Government had instructed Dr. Quo Tai-chi while in the United States to seek a treaty under which the United States should surrender the remaining “special privileges” enjoyed under existing treaties. Dr. Hsu Mo stated that Dr. Quo had reported that the matter would be covered in an exchange of notes between himself and the Secretary of State, and some days ago the texts of the two notes had reached [Page 777] the Foreign Office, which, however, had not expected that the texts would be made public until after Dr. Quo had reached China and taken up his post as Foreign Minister.
I am aware, of course, that there is some American opinion in China holding that the United States should at this time make the political gesture of entering into a formal treaty engagement with China relinquishing extraterritorial jurisdiction and our remaining special privileges under the old treaties. I have learned with considerable satisfaction from Dr. Hsu Mo’s statements as recorded in the enclosed memorandum that the Department apparently has not accepted that view. The American attitude on the subject of extraterritorial jurisdiction and special rights in China has been stated repeatedly and is well known. The good faith of our declarations cannot be challenged. There is no acute political situation which demands that we should enter prematurely into formal treaty engagements abolishing our special rights before China has demonstrated that the necessary safeguards for the protection of our nationals and our interests in this country can be afforded.
In my opinion the present exchange of letters serves all necessary political purposes of the moment.
Respectfully yours,
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- For exchange of letters dated May 26 and May 31, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, Vol. i, pp. 927 and 929.↩
- Not printed.↩