Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270

Memorandum by General Chou En-lai to General Marshall91

FM 101

Recently the Yenan broadcast and the official statements of the Chinese Communist Party not only voiced high dissatisfaction over the U. S. Government policy of extending military and financial assistance [Page 1327] to the National Government which they believe amounts to encouraging the civil war waged by the Kuomintang, but further strongly protested against and criticized such a policy. Yet these protests and criticisms should in no way be interpreted as a Communist opposition to the American people and the U. S. Government as a whole. They are rather intended to urge the U. S. Government to reconsider seriously its present erroneous policy and to make the necessary rectification, so as to avoid any injury on the traditional Sino-American friendship.

I am fully aware that the Kuomintang Government is now exploiting these materials for provocative purpose. While they are manufacturing and notifying the U. S. Armed Forces authorities to the effect that the Communists are organizing anti-American movement and instigating the mob beating-up of American residents, they are further attempting to engineer such incidents and to shift the blame onto the Chinese Communist Party.

It is needless to say that all the fabricated informations of the Kuomintang regarding the Chinese Communist Party are just as groundless as their allegations of a Communist plot for armed uprising in the various cities. I believe that you are keen enough to discern the truth. Should any untoward incident still arise in a way depicted by the Kuomintang intelligence, then the responsibility for these incidents should rest solely with the Kuomintang Government.

May I therefore draw your careful attention to the foregoing, with the request that you will kindly inform the U. S. Embassy and the U. S. Armed Forces Headquarters to this effect.

[Signature in Chinese]
(
Chou En-lai
)
  1. Notation added at bottom: “Action: discussed verbally with General Chou in connection with 7 July Anti-American blast (see minutes of Chou meeting 11 July)”. For minutes, see p. 1340.