Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXX, China

258. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson¹

Washington, May 8, 1967, 7:10 p.m.

Mr. President:

Herewith State’s essentially negative response to the possibility of introducing more GRC personnel into South Viet Nam.²

On the economic side, the Vietnamese don’t really want more Chinese around, although we are willing. On the military side, neither the Vietnamese nor our people want Chinese forces in South Viet Nam.

Behind all this is the basic negative attitude of the Vietnamese toward Chinese, heightened by the large relatively wealthy Chinese population in Saigon.

Walt

1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, China, Vol. IX. Secret. Filed with a note dictated by the President: “Walt: Looks like I can’t get there from here. See if I can’t find some way to bring other people into it. LBJ/mjdr. May 19, 1967. 12:30 p.m.”
2. Attached but not printed is an April 20 memorandum from Bundy to Rusk, with the subject heading: “Interest at Highest Levels in Expanding GRC Assistance to Viet-Nam.”