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was that the Chinese Government should approach the Government of the United States and that once this had been done His
Majesty's Government and the French Government would have a locus standi for approaching the State Department in their turn and for discussing the proposals of the Chinese Ambassador. The Ministry did not, however, propose an approach to Washington before the Chinese had made their démarche there.
it.
M.Chauvel
did not know whether the Chinese thought of making such an approach themselves nor, if they did, when they proposed to make
Mr.Campbell was not able to elicit anything more detailed from M.Charvériat and M.Chauvel with regard to what the Ministry had in mind as regards an appproach to the Government of the United States. M.Chauvel further stated that the French
Government had not yet made any reply to the Chinese suggestion but that they would probably now do so along the same lines as
the answer given by His Majesty's Government. He did not think
that the moment was ripe for any definite action in this matter
with the Chinese Government but he considered that His Majesty's
Government had done well not to answer that Government with a
definite negative but rather with a suggestion that action was
not desirable for the moment, although it might perhaps become
so later. M.Chauvel enquired what was meant by the reference
to the possible necessity for His Majesty's Government to cut
their losses in the Far East. Were the Concessions or even
Hong Kong included? Mr.Campbell said that he supposed the
phrase meant that His Majesty's Government might have to resign themselves to the loss (temporary at any rate) of anything
commercial, financial or otherwise which they might have lost
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or/
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