CO129-529-5 China- extraterritoriality 23-11-1931 - 31-12-1931 — Page 116

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2.

2. I suggest that His Majesty's Government should now await the opening of negotiations by your American colleague with a view to getting some indication of whether the Nanking government are in a position to sign a treaty and whether further difficulties are likely to

Until the arise over the question of reserved areas. American negotiations have given us some such indication it does not seem possible more precisely to decide our

future tactics.

3. As regards the question of reserved areas I agree

that it would be a mistake to abandon the reservation

of Tientsin in what would probably prove a vain effort to improve upon the terms Dr. Wang has tentatively offered for Shanghai. I am endeavouring to dissuade the State

Department from adopting that course.

4. As regards the mandate of May 4th and recent

establishment of Special Court at Shanghai do you think

it would be advisable to address a formal note to the

Chinese government in which you would remind them of their

recent appeal to the Powers not to allow the open flouting

of sacred international pacts, refer to the mandate and the

establishment of the Court and enquire whether it is the

intention of the government to deal with the question of

extraterritoriality by the method of negotiation

Grad

if so

what progress they have made with their negotiations with other Powers, what are their views as to the draft of June 6th and what do they suggest is the next step that you should take? or do you think it would be preferable to make use of such an argument incidentally in the course of negotiations?

5. Please telegraph your considered views on course proposed in paragraph 2 and suggestion in paragraph 4 above.