CO129-567-5 Traffic of arms to China and Japanese air-raids on Kowloon-Canton railway 11-4-1938 - 19-1-1939 — Page 303

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT

lin

FAR EASTERN (CHINA).

CONFIDENTIAL.

April 11, 1938.

SECTION 3.

[F 3888/34/10]

Copy No. 134

Sir A. Clark Kerr to Viscount Halifax.—(Received April 11.)

(No. 73. Confidential.)

HIS Majesty's Ambassador, Shanghai, presents his compliments to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and transmits herewith, with reference to the commercial counsellor's despatch to Peking No. 215 of the 27th May, 1937 (see F 5442/31/10), a copy of a despatch from the commercial counsellor, No. 13 of the 3rd March, 1938, enclosing statistics of the import of arms, &c., into China for 1937.

Shanghai, March 7, 1938.

(No. 13. Confidential.)

Enclosure.

Mr. George to Sir A. Clark Kerr.

Sir,

Shanghai, March 3, 1938. WITH reference to Sir Louis Beale's despatch No. 215 of the 27th May last, enclosing statistics of imports into China of civil and military aircraft, and of arms and ammunition for the use of the Chinese army and navy for the year 1936, I have the honour to enclose herewith tables, similarly communi- cated to me in strict confidence by the financial secretary to the customs. giving figures of such imports for 1937. These figures, as handed to me, were in the form of enclosures 1 and 3 herein, showing the value in gold units of imports from various countries under ports of entry. Enclosures 2 and 4, compiled in this office, give the total figures for each country of origin, with the approximate sterling equivalent. It will be seen that Germany heads the list with £883,000, while Great Britain takes sixth place with £122,000.

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2. In this connexion, it is of interest to note that, under the heading of Miscellaneous Goods and Sundries in the customs returns, which, as you are aware, signifies goods imported for the Chinese army and navy, the imports for January 1938 totalled 18.5 million dollars, as compared with 8.5 million for the previous month, and 2-2 million in January 1937. Of this total, the principal contributions were 9.5 million dollars from France, 4.9 million from Italy, 1.9 million from U.S.A., 1.1 million from Germany; and 361,000 dollars from Great Britain.

I have, &c.

A. H. GEORGE,

[283 1-3]

Commercial Counsellor.