Circular cablegram Z350 LONDON, 7 November 1940
MOST SECRET
Please give the following message to the Prime Minister [1] for his most secret and personal information. BEGINS.
China. General Chiang Kai Shek [2] has proposed to His Majesty’s Ambassador at Chungking [3] that expression of Anglo-American- Chinese collaboration which he desires keenly should take the following form. BEGINS.
(1) Joint declaration by China, Great Britain and United States:
(a) to reaffirm principles of the open door and maintenance of China’s sovereignty and territorial and administrative integrity, contained in the Nine Power Treaty.
(b) to oppose Japan’s attempt to establish ‘a new order in East Asia’ or ‘greater East Asia’. China, Great Britain and United States are convinced that they should take above as their common position in order to carry out their obligations under the Nine Power Treaty and to guarantee peace in the Pacific.
(2) Joint declaration by Great Britain and United States: to declare that (a) and (b) above constitute their common position, that a free and independent China is a sine qua non not only for peace in Far East but also for establishing normal and orderly relationships in the whole Pacific and that therefore they (Great Britain and United States) will do their utmost to help China maintain her sovereignty and territorial and administrative integrity and to restore peaceful relations among the nations in the Far East.
(3) China and Great Britain to conclude a treaty of alliance and to invite adherence of United States; in the absence of such adherence to secure full approval and support of this alliance by the United States.
(4) Concrete measures for mutual assistance (to be agreed upon before issuance of declarations).
(a) Great Britain and United States to make a joint loan or separate loans to China with a view to maintaining China’s foreign exchange and national currency: total amount of such loans to be between 200 million and 300 million United States dollars.
(b) United States to loan China each year from 500 to 1,000 fighting planes and to deliver to China from 200 to 300 such planes before end of this year.
(c) Governments of Great Britain and United States to send to China military, economic and communications missions to devise cooperative measures concerning Far East in conjunction with Chinese Government. Members of such delegations may be appointed by Chinese Government as advisers.
(d) In the event of hostilities between Great Britain or United States on the one hand and Japan on the other hand, whole of Chinese army will participate in these hostilities and all aerodromes in China will be placed at disposal of Allied forces.
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1 R. G. Menzies.
2 Commander-in-Chief of Chinese armed forces and member of Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang.
3 Sir Archibald Clark Kerr.
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[AA:A1608, A41/1/1, xv]