THE FAR EASTERN CRISIS



be proposed and rejected by the Japanese. To conclude such a pact
it will be necessary to leave out China so that the matter of 'Man-
chukuo' will not arise." I expressed the personal opinion that the
Government of the United States would under no conditions desire
to adhere to any pact which did not include China.
  Litvinov then said that the Japanese would certainly never agree
to sign any pact which included China unless "Manchukuo" should
be
recognized; that the Soviet Government would be glad to sign a pact
involving the recognition of "Manchukuo" as a quid pro quo for
Japan. I replied that I felt sure the Government of the United States
was not prepared to recognize "Manchukuo."
                                                        BULLITT

893.00/12735
  Memorandum of Conversation, by the Counselor of Legation in
                         China (Peck)99

                                      [NANKING,] March 21, 1934.
[Present :J
    Dr. Wang Ching-wei, President of the Executive Yuan and Act-
        ing Minister for Foreign Affairs.
    Mr. Li Sheng-wu, Director of the Department of General Affairs
        of the Foreign Office.
    Mr. Peck.
  In the course of a confidential conversation Mr. Peck asked Dr.
Wang whether the Chinese Government had received any recent in-
formation regarding the reported strained relations between Japan
and the Soviet Union and the possible danger of an outbreak of war
between them.
  Dr. Wang said that the Chinese Government had not received any
late information which would indicate that war between these two
Powers would break out in the near future. He said that the infor-
mation supplied to the Chinese Government was to the effect that the
Military Party in Japan was anxious to provoke a war, but was re-
strained by the older and saner elements in the Government, especially
by the counsels of Premier Saito and of the Minister of Finance, Mr.
Takahashi. He said that the Chinese Government was informed that
the Japanese Government was unwilling to initiate hostilities until
it could find out what position would be taken by the American and
British Governments in relation to the war. He said that it passed
without saying that the Soviet Government, for its part, would never
take any steps to provoke hostilities. Mr. Peck referred to the leading
article in the North China Daily News of March 20, 1934, which re-

99 Copy transmitted to the Department by the Counselor of Legation in his
despatch of March 22; received May 7.



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