460.509/7–1753: Telegram
No. 124
The Secretary of
State to the Office of the United
States High Commissioner for Germany, at
Bonn1
259. Excon. Reurtel July 172 concerning report of Foreign Ministers agreement, Secretary of State urged in tripartite discussions that economic measures on trade against Communist China be continued in event of armistice as pressure during political conference and as measure against increased Chinese aid to Communists in Indochina. Salisbury replied he agreed there could be no automatic relaxation of trade controls following armistice; that controls should be maintained and matter re-examined later in light Chinese Communist behavior. Bidault implied concurrence, saying economic and military potential of Communist China should not be increased by those fighting Chinese. Question when controls should be re-examined was not further clarified.
Communiqué issued at end of discussions contained statement: “The three Ministers … considered that in existing circumstances and pending further consultation, the common policies of the three Powers towards Communist China should be maintained”.3 Press [Page 231] generally has interpreted this sentence to mean maintenance of trade controls after armistice.
- Repeated to Paris and London.↩
- Telegram 273 from Bonn, July 17, requested information concerning a press report that the British, French, and U.S. Foreign Ministers, who had met in Washington July 10–14, had agreed to continue the embargo on strategic goods to Communist China even after an armistice in Korea. (460.509/7–1753) For documentation on the Foreign Ministers meeting, see vol. v, Part 2, pp. 1582 ff.↩
- The text of the communiqué is printed in Department of State Bulletin, July 27, 1953, pp. 104–106.↩