CO129-588-24 China- British extra-territorial rights- negotiations with China 23-11-1942 - 1-1-1943 — Page 47

3 PHBEDOWMENT

MOST SECRET.

[F 8482/828/10]

Sir,

Mr. Monson, bolonial Ghee

IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT

With the Compliments

of the

Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

R

Mr. Eden to the United States Chargé d'Affaires.

244-1

Copy No..

21

47

IVED

31 DEC1942 C. O. REGY Foreign Office, December 29, 1942. I AM sending you in a separate letter a memorandum on the latest position in our negotiations on extra-territoriality in China From this you will see that in order to reach early agreement and to be in a position to sign our treaty on the same day as the United States Government sign theirs we have conceded the Chinese requirements on every outstanding point but one, including certain points, such as national treatment for commerce, in respect of which we attached importance to obtaining what was no more than reciprocal treatment so far as we were concerned. Our desire has been throughout to align ourselves with the United States as closely as our differing positions allowed and to make of the signing of our treaties an Anglo-American-Chinese act of political solidarity.

Only one point remains to be settled and this, although not of our raising, is of essential importance to us. In reply to the Chinese Government's proposal for the rendition of the "New Territories at Kowloon we have, as you will see, offered a formula whereby we indicate that in our view this is a matter, if the Chinese Government wish to raise it, for discussion when victory has been We are unable to admit that this question falls under the head of the abrogation of extra-territoriality and we are unable to withdraw from the position which we have taken up. To do so would be to lay ourselves open to further Chinese pressure on other matters the extent of which cannot be foretold.

won.

10916-461 [24690-7]