[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be
returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.
148
From CHINA.
Decypher. Sir M. Lampson (Nanking)
April 1, 1931.
D.
1.40 p.m.
R. 3.0 p.m.
April 3, 1931.
April 3, 1931.
No. 95
Tour.
со
Extraterritoriality.
As it is desirable to take advantage of pause in negotia-
tions during this interval to clear our minds as far as possi-
ble on outstanding subjects I request instructions on follow-
ing points.
2. Trade and residence in interior. This has not yet
been seriously discussed but I gather Chinese attitude to be
that they will not throw open interior until relations are
completely reciprocal and all special foreign privileges given up including concessions and settlements, inland navigation and cabotage, foreign troops on Chinese soil and foreign men of war in Chinese waters and so on. Chinese know that opening
of interior is their one real lever for ridding themselves of foreign privileges and I doubt our being able to move them on this point. Failing anything better we should be able to secure a formula on lines of reciprocal declaration contained
in annex 3 to Sino-Italian Treaty of November 27, 1928, accompanied by a reciprocal provision giving most-favoured- nation treatment in regard to residence and trade on lines of
that contained in second sentence of article 5 of Sino-Czecho
Treaty of February 12, 1930. Would above meet our case?
3. Chinese are sure to insist on a third language
authoritative text. I suggest French and that French transla-
tion be made in London.
4.