OUTWARD TELEGRAM
16/157
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be
kept under Lock and Key.]
With the Compliments of the
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. Under Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs
To JAPAN.
Cypher telegram to Sir R. Craigie, (Tokyo).
Foreign Office,
No. 877.
28 DEC 1939
22nd December, 1939,
11.30 p.m.
0:0:0:0:0
Japanese Ambassador called on Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State on 21st December. He expressed the hope that announcement
might be made of agreement on Tientsin issues before the New Year.
This would favourably affect his Government, who were making an issue
of their success with the democracies.
2.
Ambassador went on to say that we must not regard the
opening of the Yangtze as a Christmas present to America. While he
did not deny that his Government wished to improve relations with
America, he stressed the fact that we were the nation primarily
interested in the trade of the river.
Having stated that there were
certain preliminary questions to be cleared out of the way, he added
that he did not expect that they would involve any major issues. He
did not envisage that the river would be opened beyond Kanking for
some time, but he thought the Pearl River would be reopened at about
the same time as the Yangtze. He hoped that we would receive this
decision in the right spirit.
3. In thanking him, Under-Secretary stated that he was glad
to hear that no major issues were involved in reopening of the river,
and added that commercial circles here had been complaining for a
long time about the difficulties imposed in the way of legitimate trade.
Repeated to Shanghai No. 1247, to Paris Fo. 1071 Saving, and to
Washington No. 47 Saving.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.