893.00/8–944: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 9—1:20 p.m.]
1372. Sun Fo told Counselor Atcheson last evening that while Lin Tsu-han had wanted at end of July to return to Yenan, Government representatives had asked him to stay to continue conversations and yesterday Generalissimo had asked Sun Fo and Tai Chi-tao to form nucleus of committee to study Kmt–Communist problem with view to arranging settlement.
Sun did not know who other committee members would be but assumed they would include Wu Teh-chen, Chen Kuo-fu, “and some of those people.” He thought the committee could be able to do something constructive, indicated that Generalissimo was becoming more cognizant of pressing necessity of effecting a settlement and said that he, Sun, had made known to various persons including Generalissimo and Wu Teh-chen his own view that Communist demands were not, in light of all the circumstances, unreasonable and should be met without further delay.
Sun indicated that he had also been working to get something constructive done about Sinkiang, another matter he considers to loom large across field of Sino-Soviet relations. He said that when Soviet Ambassador left in mid-May (Embassy’s 941, May 3131) Gmo had [Page 505] given latter virtual assurance that there would be “change of personnel” in Sinkiang and Ambassador had replied that such a step would be a very good one because Soviet Government found it impossible to “work” with Sheng Shih-tsai, present Sinkiang Chairman. Almost 3 months had passed and nothing had been done but matter was now under active consideration. Sun said the post might be divided between a civil and military official, professed not to know who might be possible candidates and said one difficulty was to find suitable job for Sheng. He did not think new appointment would cause any military difficulty because Sheng’s troops numbered only 20,000 whereas Central Government now has 3 divisions in Sinkiang.