893.51/7469
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
The Chinese Ambassador38 called to see me this afternoon and left with me a copy of a message39 received from his Minister of Finance stating that the Universal Trading Corporation of New York had been instructed to complete in full the repayment of the Wood Oil Loan of February 8, 1939, although full liquidation was not required, under the terms of the contracts, until 1944.
The Ambassador stressed the fact that the funds utilized in the repayment of this loan had come solely from funds derived from the tung oil contracts themselves.
The Ambassador spoke with great feeling of the fact that this loan, which was now repaid, had come at the darkest moment in the history of the Chinese struggle against Japan, right after the evacuation of Hankow by the Chinese forces, and that the effect of the loan had been tremendous and stimulating to the resistance of the Chinese people.
[Page 502]I expressed very deep gratitude to the Ambassador for his statements and told him that I would send a copy of this message to the President for his information.