Office of the Historian

Hopkins Papers

The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs (Soong) to the Presidents Special Assistant (Hopkins)1

[Washington,] 21st July, 1943.

Dear Harry

My departure has been delayed till tomorrow morning owing to engine trouble.

Generalissimo cabled me that it would be awkward for United Nations’ relations, and Sino-Russian relations in particular, if he goes thru Siberia without seeing Stalin. Therefore he prefers the rendezvous to be somewhere else than Alaska.

If the President desires to advance the date of the meeting to some time in August or September, he would be able to make it, provided he is given two weeks’ notice.2

He requests me to proceed to London according to programme, but to be in readiness to return & participate in the Conference whenever the President desires it.

Hoping that you will have a nice little rest in New Hampshire

Sincerely,

T. V. [Soong]
  1. The source is handwritten.↩
  2. No reply to this message has been found, but presumably Chiang was told that it would not be possible to arrange the meeting until autumn.↩