121.893/11–2845

Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Vincent)1

Outline of Suggested Course or Action in China

(1)
The US is prepared to assist the Chinese National Government in the transportation of troops to Manchurian ports to enable China to reestablish its administrative control over Manchuria as an integral part of China. The US and the UK, by the Cairo Declaration,2 are committed to the return of Manchuria to China. The USSR, in adhering to the Potsdam Declaration,3 is also committed to the return of Manchuria to China; and by the terms of the Sino-Soviet Treaty and Agreements of August 19454 the USSR pledges itself to respect Chinese sovereignty over Manchuria. All of these Governments recognize the National Government of China as the only legal government in China. Resumption of Chinese sovereignty in Manchuria can therefore be properly effected only through reestablishment by the recognized National Government of China of administrative control in Manchuria.
(2)
The US is prepared to assist the National Government of China in effecting the rapid demobilization and repatriation of Japanese troops in north China. US marines are in north China for that purpose and stand ready to act more directly and effectively in accomplishing that purpose. Quite apart from the US commitment to assist the Chinese National Government in the demobilization and repatriation of Japanese troops, the U.S. feels that it has a responsibility [Page 746] of its own, deriving from its adherence to the principles and policies which brought it into war against Japan, to effect the removal of Japanese troops from China.
(3)
The US recognizes and supports the National Government of China on an international level, but it cannot support that Government by military intervention in an internecine struggle.
(4)
Therefore, an indispensable condition to the accomplishment of (2) above and a highly advantageous condition to the achievement of the ultimate objective of (1) above would be the declaration of a truce between the armies of the National Government and the armies of the Chinese Communists and other dissident Chinese armed forces. The US is prepared to arrange, if so requested by the National Government of China, for a truce between the opposing forces.
(5)
The truce mentioned in (4) above could have long-term advantage for China only if accompanied by the immediate convocation of a national conference to seek and find a peaceful solution of China’s present political strife. The US is committed to assist the Chinese National Government, in every appropriate way, in the achievement of unity, stability, and democracy in China by methods of peaceful political negotiation. The US is prepared to request the U.S.S.R. and the UK to reaffirm that they also are committed to such a policy. The US is cognizant of the fact that the present National Government of China is a “one-party government” and believes that it would be conducive to peace, unity, and democratic reform in China if the bases of that Government were broadened to include other political elements in the country. Furthermore, the US is convinced that the existence of autonomous armies such as the army of the Communist Party, is inconsistent with and makes impossible political unity in China. It is for these reasons that the US strongly advocates that the Chinese National Government call as soon as possible a conference of representatives of the major political elements in the country for the purpose of agreeing upon arrangements which would give those elements a fair and effective representation in the Chinese National Government. To be consistent, the National Government should at the same time announce the termination of one-party “political tutelage”. Upon the institution of a broadly representation [sic] government, the Chinese Communist forces should be integrated effectively into the Chinese National Government army.
(6)
The US is prepared to encourage and support the Chinese National Government in its endeavors to bring about peace and unity by the creation of a government representative of the various political elements in the country. It is also prepared to request the U. S. S. R. and the UK to give similar encouragement and support to the Chinese National Government.
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If the Chinese Government is able to bring about peace and unity along the lines described, the U. S. is prepared to assist the Chinese Government in every reasonable way to rehabilitate the country, to initiate constructive measures for improvement and progress in the agrarian and industrial economy of the country, and to establish a military organization capable of discharging China’s national and international responsibilities for the maintenance of peace and order. Specifically, the US is prepared to give favorable consideration to the establishment of an American military advisory group in China; to the dispatch of such other advisers in the economic and financial fields as the Chinese Government may need and which this Government can supply; and to Chinese requests for credits and loans, under reasonable conditions, for projects which contribute toward the development of a healthy economy in China and the development of healthy trade relations between China and the United States.

  1. Copy in Department files bears no indication of drafting officer, and date was apparently inserted subsequently; name of drafting officer and date supplied from text printed in Institute of Pacific Relations: Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act …, of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 82d Cong., 1st sess. (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1951), pt. 7, pp. 2207. For testimony concerning this document, see ibid., pt. 6, pp. 1710–1721 and pt. 7, pp. 2196–2213.
  2. Issued December 1, 1943, Department of State Bulletin, December 4, 1943, p. 393, or Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943, p. 448.
  3. Issued July 26, 1945, Department of State Bulletin, July 29, 1945, p. 137, or Foreign Relations, The Conferences of Berlin (The Potsdam Conferences), 1945, vol. ii, p. 1474.
  4. Signed at Moscow, August 14, 1945, Department of State, United States Relations With China (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949), pp. 585–596.