740.00119 (Potsdam)/5–2446
No. 574
Briefing Book Paper1
Unconditional Surrender of Japan and Policy Toward Liberated Areas in the Far East in Relation to Unconditional Surrender
. . . . . . .
iii. policy toward chinese liberated areas and china generally
With regard to policy in liberated areas of China, we stand for: (1) Full recognition of China’s sovereignty in those areas and their restoration to Chinese control as soon as circumstances will permit termination of military administration of civil affairs; (2) abstention from interference in internal political affairs during, as well as of course after, the period of military occupation and administration of civil affairs; and (3) in relation generally to areas restored to China, as in relation to China as a whole, adherence to the principles of the Nine Power Treaty3 committing the signatories to respect the sovereignty, the independence and the territorial [and] administrative integrity of China, to provide the fullest opportunity to China to develop and maintain an effective and stable government, to safeguard the principle of equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations in China, and to refrain from seeking special rights and privileges in China.
We advocate agreement among the principally interested powers (U. S. S. R., United Kingdom, and United States) to support the foregoing principles of conduct with regard to China.
Liberation of Chinese territory, including Manchuria, will inevitably accentuate the present political difficulties between the Chinese Government and the Communist regime in as much as the latter control extensive areas in North China contiguous to areas to be liberated. It is of the utmost importance that the principally interested powers agree to refrain in areas liberated by their military forces from activity which would foster discord and disunity in China. Conversely, those powers should agree upon measures to encourage national unity in China and the formation of a broadly representative Chinese Government cooperative with all its friendly neighbors. [Page 859] Furthermore, those powers might agree upon non-competitive measures to assist China towards recovery from the ravages of war and toward economic reconstruction along lines to improve the livelihood of all the Chinese people.
It is of the utmost importance that the situation in China, now and as it may develop in the future, not be permitted to become a source of irritation and possible friction between the three principally interested powers. Efforts to bring about political and military unity in China have so far not met with success. It is believed that only through the coordinated efforts of the U. S. S. R., the United Kingdom, and the United States can conditions making for unity and stability be created.
- Annex 3 to the attachment to document No. 177.↩
- For other extracts from this paper, see documents Nos. 589 and 607.↩
- Signed at Washington, February 6, 1922 (Treaty Series No. 723; 44 Stat. (3) 2113).↩