811.244/370
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 17.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch No. 1937 [1936] of December 20, 1943,46 in regard to Chinese Industrial Cooperatives’ contracts with the United States Army in China, I have the honor to enclose a copy of despatch No. 23 of January 26, 1944, from the Consulate General at Kunming,46 on the subject.
Summary. C. I. C. sent a representative47 to Kunming to open a branch office of its Allied Forces Commodity Supply Service early in December 1943 but, although that representative has discussed the matter of supplying certain materials to the United States Army and has submitted various estimates, C. I. C. has not yet succeeded in obtaining a single direct order from the American authorities. C. I. C. bids have not been lower than those submitted by Kunming merchants employing high-pressure salesmen who speak fluent English and entertain lavishly American officers responsible for placing orders for materials. Unless C. I. C. sends suitable representatives who can compete with local merchants, C. I. C. will fail to obtain any substantial share of United States Army orders and may give up the idea of opening a branch office at Kunming. End of Summary.
Respectfully yours,