501.BB/9–249
Memorandum by the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Kennan)
This paper1 in its present form is wholly inadequate. It seems to the Planning Staff that it is the height of folly to give assurances to the Chinese Government of our support, even in principle, to their proposed appeal to the United Nations without fully assuring ourselves in advance of the case they will make. This is particularly true in the light of the fact that they appear to wish to have the General Assembly recommend (1) that member states abstain from recognizing the Chinese Communist regime and (2) that member states give moral and material aid to the Nationalist Government. These anticipated steps not only, as the paper says, “raise serious questions”, but they would start us on a most inadvisable course in the General Assembly. Furthermore, this proposed appeal by the Chinese Government would give the Soviets a field day in the Assembly for propaganda on American intervention in China. It holds every likelihood of ending up in a fiasco.
I understand that UNP and CA now agree that this paper is unsatisfactory.