893.00/9998
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
The Spanish Ambassador called this morning upon me and asked me about C. C. Wu. He referred to an item in the newspaper to the effect that C. C. Wu, claiming to be a representative of the Nationalist Government, had arrived in Washington to present the views of the Nationalist Government of China to the United States and to the American people. The Ambassador asked me whether I had seen Wu. I told him I had not, but that I expected to see him in the course of the next few days. I explained to him that we had not recognized the Nationalist Government of China and that we would not recognize C. C. Wu as having any official status, but that we would receive him unofficially and informally and listen to anything he had to say.
The Ambassador referred to Mr. MacMurray’s notes to the Northern and Southern factions87 warning them of the intention of the American Government to protect American citizens at Peking and Tientsin and asked me whether this had any relation to the Japanese memorandum handed to the Northern and Southern factions on May 18.88 I explained to him that it had no relation whatever to the action of the Japanese Government.
The Ambassador referred to the report in the Washington Post this morning to the effect that the Japanese press was much disturbed over statements accredited to the Secretary of State concerning Japan’s policy in China and asked me whether any such statements had been made by the Secretary. I told him that the alleged [Page 181] reports in the Japanese press regarding statements made by the Secretary were based entirely upon misinformation, that the Secretary had not commented upon the Japanese memorandum to the Northern and Southern factions in China, nor had he commented upon Japan’s policy.