711.93/350: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:55 a.m.]
108. I called on Generalissimo Chiang on March 5th to pay my respects. The Generalissimo surprised me, after referring to a widespread impression among Chinese to the effect that the United States seemed to be less ardently interested in the Far East while the British Government was showing a growing interest, by stating that he hoped the United States would again indicate its interest in the Pacific area and in China. While the Generalissimo’s statement was couched in the most general terms, I distinctly inferred that he was anxious that the United States exert itself to occupy a position equaling that which he felt Great Britain had recently assumed.
[Page 37]I told the Generalissimo that I would be glad to communicate his suggestions to you. I said that I felt the American Government need say very little as to its attitude in regard to the Far East, as it had made that attitude very plain on numerous occasions in the past and I knew of no change. I said that in American opinion it was now a time for action rather than words, and pointed out that among other concrete evidences of a continued American interest in the Pacific area were to be found the fact that the Government was at great expense to subsidize an air route from the United States to Hong Kong; that we were keeping our fleet in the Pacific and spending large sums for its accommodation; that, at a cost of two or three Panama Canals, we were building a large irrigation and hydroelectric plant on the Columbia River. The Generalissimo acknowledged all this but repeated his hope that the United States would keep pace with current British interest in the Pacific and the Far East, stating that the stability of the Pacific area depended upon this.
The Generalissimo also stated that he felt the time was not far off when an international conference of the powers interested in the Far East should be held. I inferred from the way he talked that he perhaps was contemplating calling such a conference. He expressed the hope that the United States would bear the possibility of such a conference in mind and be prepared to participate, as American cooperation was necessary to the success of any effort to bring about peace in the Pacific area.
I am not sure as to the reason for the Generalissimo’s ideas concerning the cooling of American interest in the Far East. He may have been inspired in this statement to me by his belief that the British made representations in Tokyo last fall, or it may be that he has been impressed by recent British efforts, first through Leith-Ross38 and now through Kirkpatrick,39 to increase the British investments in China through better credit facilities.