Office of the Historian

320. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, July 27, 19551

Washington, July 27, 1955

SUBJECT

  • China—Negotiations Beginning at Geneva on August 1st.

PARTICIPANTS

  • The Secretary
  • Sir Roger Makins
  • Mr. Barbour—EUR

In the course of a call on another subject the British Ambassador asked the Secretary whether he could give him any indication of the nature of the instructions which would be given to Amb. Johnson for the negotiations with the Chinese Communists at Geneva beginning on August 1. The Secretary said that the instructions have not yet been prepared and he has not in fact discussed their possible content in any detail with Asst. Secretary Robertson. Generally, however, he commented that the objective will be to focus on obtaining the release of American citizens in Communist China, the course of the negotiations to be determined to a considerable extent by the success achieved in that matter. If some progress is made, the Secretary thought that it might be possible to envisage some sort of an understanding as to a cease-fire in the Formosa Strait and other subjects which might be touched upon could be some arrangement for a neutral, that is probably Swedish, Swiss or International Red Cross, verification of the voluntary decisions of the Chinese students to remain in the U.S., obstacles to shipping (e.g., mine fields), and a relaxation of restrictions against Americans entering Communist China. The Secretary did not envisage that this meeting at Geneva would be of short duration but on the contrary assumed that it might well take a considerable length of time.

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Wang–Johnson Talks. Top Secret; Personal and Private. Drafted by Barbour.↩