893.796A/9–447

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in China (Stuart)

No. 38

The Secretary of State refers to the Embassy’s telegram No. 1858 of September 4, 19472 and previous correspondence on the subject of the need for a technical mission to assist the Chinese Government in the field of civil aviation, and in particular the need for an exception ally well-qualified chief of mission.

Recent passage of the “Smith–Mundt Bill,” Public Law 402, 80th Congress,3 to which the President has affixed his signature, and the likelihood of appropriations being made available beginning with fiscal 1949 make it possible for the Civil Aeronautics Administration to send, predominantly at the United States Government’s expense, a technical assistance mission to countries in the Eastern Hemisphere within the limits of the funds. It has been determined in preliminary discussions with the Civil Aeronautics Administration that a mission consisting of a chief and five associates might be available for assistance to China commencing in the late summer or early fall of 1948. The Civil Aeronautics Administration indicates that it would endeavor to pick a top-flight man with broad experience in both civil and military aviation to be chief of this proposed technical assistance mission to China.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration has indicated further that, although it might send a team of five technicians at its expense to serve under a major general as senior advisor, it would do so reluctantly. The Civil Aeronautics Administration feels that its men would be in the position of serving two masters and would suffer conflicting loyalties, an undesirable situation. Other points to be considered as arguments in favor of assigning a Civil Aeronautics Administration team in toto are:

(1)
The United States Government might not wish to be put in the incongruous position of maintaining separation of its own military [Page 802] and civil aviation and yet assigning a major general to China to serve as senior advisor on civil aviation.
(2)
The Civil Aeronautics Administration mission in China would be part of a world-wide program, and it would benefit by the experience gained in Washington by Civil Aeronautics Administration missions elsewhere.
(3)
Authorization already exists under the provisions of the “Smith–Mundt Bill” for sending a mission to China should the Chinese Government request one. As stated in Department telegram No. 1046 of August 21, 1947,4 enabling legislation would have to be initiated for the assignment of a military man as senior advisor. Objection might be made to the passage of this legislation.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration has had experience in the assignment of technical assistance missions to countries in the Western Hemisphere under the Cooperation with the Other American Republics Program. Enclosed for the Embassy’s information is a copy of the fourteen standard points5 which have been used as a basis of negotiations for these missions.

It is the Department’s understanding that the reason for the Embassy’s original recommendation that a major general head such a technical mission to China was that only a military figure of such rank would carry sufficient weight with the Chinese Air Force and with the Generalissimo6 to make likely effective enforcement of a proper division of authority between civilian and military aviation. This seems to the Department to be a point of the utmost importance.

Aside from the abovementioned considerations, including the necessity for special legislation, it is understood that it would be exceedingly difficult to obtain from the Department of the Air Force the services of a major general of the caliber and qualifications required. Therefore, in the light of this situation and the events that have transpired since the original recommendation the Department wishes to consult the Embassy as to its recommendations before proceeding further in the matter.

  1. Ibid., vol. vii, p. 1016.
  2. Approved January 27, 1948; 62 Stat. 6.
  3. Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. vii, p. 1012.
  4. Not attached to file copy.
  5. Chiang Kai-shek, president of the National Government of the Republic of China.