F7369/828/10
H.A.C.
F.O.
October
1942.
104?
United States Ambassador.
(From the Secretary
of State)
Copy to:
Mr. Rumbold, 1.0.
Mr. Monson, C.O.
Mr. Nevsam, H.O.
Sir C. Schuster, House of Lords.
for concurrence
With reference to the extraterritoriality
question in China, our Ambassador at Chungking
has called attention to the fact that the
future rights of our nationals to acquire real
property are not at present covered by the
draft treaties.
Article 4 of the American draft (Article 5
of ours) safeguards only existing rights and
titles. In so far as the rights granted by the
provisions of the old treaties for the acquisition
of land on perpetual lease in the treaty ports
can be held to be not inconsistent with the
present treaty, Article 7 (Article 8 of our draft)
indirectly preserves this right.
But neither, of these provisions gives our nationals(the right to acquire real property throughout the
country. Nor does the right to reside and barry
on trade everywhere in China accorded in Article
5 carry with it the right to ownership of real
property, although this may have been the under-
lying intention of the United States Government.
I would observe that the treaty conbluded
with China in 1928 by Italy has annexed to it a
declaration by the Chinese Minister for Foreign
Affairs as follows:
"In the name of the National Government of the Republic of China, I have the honour to declare that, when Italian subjects cease to enjoy the privileges of consular jurisdiction and other special privileges, and when the relations between the two countries are on a footing of perfect equality, the Chinese Government, in view of the fact that Chinese citizens, subject to the limitations prescribed in Italian laws and regulations, enjoy the right to live and trade and to acquire property in any part of the Italian territory will
grant/