#5-512
To Colonel Marshall S. Carter
July 26, 1946 Radio No. GOLD 1181. [Nanking, China]
Secret
There is no objection that I see for the Chinese to purchase equipment and ammunition in the United States providing it is stipulated that delivery on undelivered items, whether paid for or not, can be withheld by the United States should that course appear to be in the best interests of the United States. Your WAR-95249 refers.1 In this connection I asked General Gillem very recently to add a similar proviso in a message he was sending to the War Department concerning additional equipment and 7.92 ammunition for the Chinese. While I am uncertain that this proviso is completely feasible I feel that this course would be best as far as my negotiations are concerned and also would be in the best interest of the United States. Even if the suggestion is not feasible an embargo could be established should United States policy be changed or modified.
Document Copy Text Source: Records of the Department of State (RG 59), Lot Files, Marshall Mission, Military Affairs, GOLD Messages, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Document Format: Typed radio message.
1. Carter’s July 23 telegram stated that the Chinese Supply Commission was “attempting to purchase through War Assets Administration approximately 150,000,000 rounds of 7.92 mm. surplus rifle ammunition” in addition to other military items. Carter desired that Marshall “verify my assumption that until the situation clears, shipment of military end-use items to China obtained from any source should continue to be deferred.” (Foreign Relations, 1946, 10: 753–54.) For further developments, see Marshall to Carter, August 2, 1946, Papers of George Catlett Marshall, #5-518 [5: 642].
Recommended Citation: The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, ed. Larry I. Bland and Sharon Ritenour Stevens (Lexington, Va.: The George C. Marshall Foundation, 1981– ). Electronic version based on The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 5, “The Finest Soldier,” January 1, 1945–January 7, 1947 (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), pp. 636–637.