893.00/2–1147
The First Secretary of Embassy in the United
Kingdom (Drumright) to the Secretary of State
No. 3718
London, February 11,
1947.
[Received February 19.]
Subject: Desire of British Foreign Secretary Bevin to
Discuss China with Secretary Marshall
Sir: 1. I have the honor to enclose a
self-explanatory memorandum of a conversation which I had with Mr. G. V.
Kitson, Head of the China Department of the Foreign Office, on the
above-cited subject on February 7, 1947.
2. In raising the foregoing subject, Mr. Kitson in no way indicated that
the Foreign Secretary was proposing to request that Secretary Marshall
stop in London en route to Moscow.62 Mr. Kitson seemed
rather to indicate that if Secretary Marshall happened to come through
London then the Foreign Secretary would wish to discuss the situation in
China with him.
Respectfully yours,
For the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim:
Everett F. Drumright
[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation, by the First Secretary
of Embassy in the United Kingdom (Drumright)
[London,] February 7, 1947.
In the course of an informal and general conversation with Mr. Kitson
at the Foreign Office this afternoon, he said he understood that Mr.
Bevin is anxious to have a talk with Secretary Marshall on the
situation in China prior to the Moscow Conference if possible. Mr.
Kitson then inquired whether the Embassy was informed whether
Secretary Marshall had set up his itinerary and, if so, whether he
contemplated passing through London en route to Moscow. I replied
that, so far as I was informed, the Embassy had no information on
the subject from the State Department, adding, however, that I had
seen press reports to the effect that Secretary Marshall planned to
visit Germany and Austria before going to Moscow.
I went on to express the personal view that while Secretary Marshall
would doubtless be glad to exchange views with Mr. Bevin on the
question of China, I doubted whether Secretary Marshall would come
to London for that purpose, pointing out that a trip to London by
the Secretary at this juncture would afford the Soviets a further
opportunity to level the accusation that the United States and Great
Britain were “ganging up” on the Soviet Union. I then suggested that
if Mr. Bevin wished to discuss China with Secretary
Marshall—assuming that London is not included in the Secretary’s
itinerary—he might find it most convenient to seek an opportunity to
do so at Moscow.
