Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1937, The Far East, Volume III

893.00/14096: Telegram

The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

Nanking, April 30, 1937—9 a.m.
[Received 10:50 a.m.]

186. Our 87, February 23, 2 p.m., paragraphs 7 and 10; monthly review for March⁸⁸ page 19.

1. It has been generally believed here that negotiations have been proceeding between the National Government and the Communists in the northwest looking to a reconciliation along the lines of a compromise between the Communists’ “demands” (see our despatch 378, March 15⁸⁹) discussed at February plenary session of the Central Executive Committee and the Government’s (or party’s) “conditions” laid down by the session. One current view is that the Government (i. e. Chiang Kai-shek) has strongly favored a reconciliation even on milder conditions but that party officials while connected with the Government and opposed to Chiang have been the chief objectors. According to some reports, negotiations actually started in face to face conversations between Chiang and Chou En Lai, Secretary General of the Chinese Communists, even before Chiang’s detention in Sian December 1936, and recently an official of the Foreign Office who has had long personal acquaintance with Chou stated to an officer of the Embassy that these reports were true. During the past week the Tientsin United Press correspondent (American) who has been visiting the Communist “capital” at Yenan, Shensi, has reported that Mao Tze Tung⁹⁰ told him that negotiations with the Government were continuing and that the Communist representative was making frequent flights to Sian in a plane furnished by the Government in order to negotiate at Sian with a representative [sent?] from there by the Government.

2. Last evening a National Government Vice Minister stated to an officer of the Embassy that (1) negotiations between the Government [and] Communists were in fact continuing at Sian and were meeting with success; (2) the Communists had accepted the Government’s conditions that they (a) cease to style themselves “communists” and (b) relinquish the class struggle both in practice and theory; (3) the points remaining at issue concern reorganization of the Communist troops into government units; (4) the Government hopes to persuade the Communists to agree to the placing of their troops with their own officers under supervision of Government officers, thus effecting their technical incorporation into the national forces but leaving them for the time being together and in their present station; (5) if such agreement is reached further absorption will be postponed and later will proceed gradually by occasional transfer of small attachments to other areas for incorporation into large regular government military units.

3. He did not believe that active assistance was any longer being given to the Chinese Communists by the Comintern, it being the present policy of the Soviet Russian régime not to exploit revolution but to influence existing Communist organizations abroad to align themselves with such movement as that represented by the anti-Japanese program of the Chinese Communist troops and organizations. He said that without material assistance from Russia, the Communists in the northwest would have to meet the Government’s wishes because they were in territory so poor that it could not long support them and they lacked necessities such as salt and were even short of water.

4. By pouch to Peiping, Tokyo, Moscow.

Johnson

88. Review not printed.
89. Not printed.
90. Founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, and head of its “Government”.