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  4. Document 194

740.00119 Council/4–147

The Chinese Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Foo) to the Secretary of State 76

Moscow, March 24th, 1947.

Your Excellency: Under instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I have the honour to communicate to Your Excellency the following stand of the Chinese Government concerning the preparation of the peace settlements for Germany and Austria:

The Chinese Government is of the view that according to the Potsdam Agreement the Powers signatory to the terms of German surrender are only entrusted to draw up a peace treaty for Germany and the convocation of the Peace Conference must be a matter to be agreed by all Members of the Council of the Foreign Ministers.

The Chinese Government, therefore, finds it necessary to call the attention of the four Ministers now meeting in Moscow that any definite agreement on the subject of the Peace Conference must have concurrence of the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs as it was done in the Moscow Conference of December 1945 in regard to the procedure for peace settlements for Italy, Roumania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Finland. Any decision otherwise arrived at would have no authority under the terms of reference of the Council of Foreign Ministers.

I avail myself [etc.]

Foo Ping-Sheung

  1. The source text was transmitted to the Department as an enclosure to despatch 96, April 1, 1947, from the United States Delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers at Moscow, not printed. That same despatch also transmitted a copy of Secretary Marshall’s reply of March 27 which read in part as follows:

    “In reply, I am happy to inform you that in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers at Moscow on March 25, 1947 the United States Government took the position that the Council, with China as a member, should issue the invitations to other states to participate in the peace conference with respect to Germany. Since the treaty with Austria is not a “peace treaty”, no consideration has been given to the question of a conference in this regard. The proposal of the United States Government is, of course, subject to agreement among the four Ministers participating in the Conference of Foreign Ministers.”

    For the report on the Council meeting on March 25, see telegram 1013, Delsec 1345, March 25, from Moscow, p. 287.

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