Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Volume III, Microfiche Supplement, China

216. Despatch 5 from Geneva¹

No. 5

Geneva, September 21, 1955

REF

• Geneva’s Telegram 739, September 18, 1955

SUBJECT

• Transmitting Letter Received from Ambassador Wang Ping-nan Regarding Implementation of the Agreed Announcement

There is enclosed a copy of the full text of the translation of a letter addressed to me in Chinese by Ambassador Wang Ping-nan on September 16, 1955. The signed original of the Chinese letter was accompanied by this translation which was evidently hastily done and contains some inaccuracies. However, it has been checked with the Chinese text and was found to be correct in its essential substance.

U. Alexis Johnson
American Ambassador

Enclosure

Letter from Wang to Johnson²

Geneva, September 16, 1955

Mr. U. Alexis Johnson:

At our September 14 meeting I informed you that the Chinese Government had published the full text of our Agreed Announcement at the agreed time. I also proposed that the United States Government should formally entrust the United Kingdom Government on the one hand and the Chinese Government should formally entrust the Indian Government on the other so as to complete the procedures of entrusting the third powers. Then the Chinese Government should notify the United Kingdom Government and the United States Government should notify the Indian Government respectively extending their agreement to the respective third powers being entrusted to assume the functions stipulated in the Agreed Announcement of the Ambassadors of China and the United States.

I am hereby instructed to inform you that after the United States Government has formally entrusted the United Kingdom Government the Chinese Government will notify the United Kingdom Government of its agreement to the latter’s being entrusted by the United States Government to offer the Americans who desire to return the various assistance specified in our Agreed Announcement.

At the September 14 meeting you advised me that the United States Embassy in New Delhi had informed the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on September 11 and formally invited it to assume the functions stipulated in the Announcement. This notification of the United States Government can only be interpreted in the following manner: The United States Government is aware that the Chinese Government has previously indicated its readiness to the Indian Government to entrust India to extend assistance in the matter concerning the return of Chinese nationals residing in the United States. During these talks I again indicated to you on many occasions that the Chinese Government would entrust the Indian Government to extend assistance to Chinese nationals residing in the United States who desire to return. Hence, the notification of the United States Government to the Indian Government means the former’s agreement to the Indian Government being entrusted by the Chinese Government and the Chinese Government interprets and understands as such the September 11 notification of the United States Government to the Indian Government.

It must be pointed out that our side has taken into account of the difficult position in the diplomatic relations in which the United States Government finds, and has acceded to your proposed text on the entrusting of third powers in its present form in the Agreed Announcement. However, on the concrete content with regard to the Chinese Government’s entrusting the Indian Government and the United States Government’s entrusting the United Kingdom Government both sides cannot have any other interpretation.

After the publication of our Agreed Announcement the American press including the United States Information Service invariably made distorted interpretation at variance with the actual fact of the text of the Agreed Announcement regarding the entrusting of the third powers, alleging that the Chinese Government would entrust the United Kingdom Government on the one hand and the United States Government would entrust the Indian Government on the other. The United States Government ought not to agree to such a distorted interpretation.

We desire to know if the United States Government has formally entrusted the United Kingdom Government and will appreciate a confirmation in a reply letter to this effect if it has already done so, so that I will be able to report promptly to my Government. Then my Government will inform the United Kingdom Government of its agreement to the latter’s being entrusted by the United States Government.

(Signed) Wang Ping-nan

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/9–2155. Confidential. Drafted by Forman. Sent via air pouch.
2. Confidential. The letter is marked “Translation.”