Roosevelt Papers
The Presidents Personal Representative (Hurley) to the President
I have inspected the Chinese Theatre of Operations. I spent considerable time with the American Generals, Lieutenant General Stilwell, Major General Chennault, and other Chinese and American Army Officers. I was accompanied into the Chinese Theatre by Major General Stratemeyer who is Commander of the American Air Operations in the India and China Theatres. I had two conferences with the President of China, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The Generalissimo expressed his complete confidence in you, in your motives, and in the principles that you have promulgated.
The Generalissimo talked very frankly about the coming conference in Cairo. He questioned whether or not he could meet Marshal Stalin at Teheran on the terms of amity becoming such a meeting. He related to me frankly the causes that impelled him to hesitate to have a personal meeting with Marshal Stalin.1 He related to me his suspicions concerning Russia’s desires to communize China and perhaps for a complete conquest and annexation to Russia of a portion of China.
I recalled to him Marshal Stalin’s renunciation of world conquest as a fundamental policy of communism. I told him that in my opinion Marshal Stalin is now committed to the proposition that communism [Page 103] can succeed in Russia alone without an attempt being made to force it on the rest of the world. I said also that in my opinion Russia is no longer subsidizing or directing communist activities in other nations. I suggested to the Generalissimo that Russia’s own experience with communism in Russia is to some extent neutralizing what we considered to be the harsher elements of the communistic ideology. I said that I realized that there are communist political parties in other nations but in my opinion such parties are neither directed nor subsidized from Russia.
In corroboration of these arguments I drew the Generalissimo’s attention to the recent Moscow declaration.2 Notwithstanding this, the Generalissimo still appeared to entertain grave doubts of the friendly intentions of the Soviet Government toward China.
The Generalissimo stated that he wished to see you first in Cairo and much depended on his conference with you as to whether or not he would subsequently confer with Marshal Stalin.
I hope I may have the opportunity of discussing with you the Chinese-Russian problem before you have a conference with the Generalissimo.
The Generalissimo stated that so far as you and Prime Minister Churchill are concerned he has no doubt of being able to find a basis of complete cooperation.
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In all of the foregoing it will be apparent to you that I have confined myself to a discussion of the attitude of President-Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek toward a meeting with Marshal Stalin. I have purposely refrained from injecting into this letter any of the reasons why Marshal Stalin might not want a public meeting with Chiang Kai-shek at this moment. For instance, Marshal Stalin might be opposed to taking any action that might cause the closing of the Port of Vladivostok. Moreover, you may find that Marshal Stalin might be convinced that it would be unwise to take any action that might bring an enemy down on his rear in the present posture of the conflict.
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Respectfully yours,
Brigadier General, U.S.A.