893.00/12–345: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in China (Smyth) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 3—6:42 a.m.]
2086. On November 25 Chou En-lai flew to Yenan on Chinese plane. On November 26 Wang Ping-nan flew to Yenan on American plane with several other Communists, three American and one French correspondents, one Govt. Ministry of Information representative and two U. S. Army officers (Major Lau of G–2 and Major Gillicks). U. S. plane returned to Chungking December first, bringing the 2 American officers, Wang Ping-nan and 20 other Communists (chiefly minor personnel of local Communist Hqrs (headquarters) and news agency), including 7 women and 3 children; one of women was Mrs. Peng Teh-huai and one of children was young son of Tung Pi-wu, now in Chungking (Sent Washington repeated Moscow).
Wang Ping-nan called at Embassy today. He said Yenan had [Page 487] definitely decided to participate in People’s Consultative Council and that of seven delegates allotted to Communists five had been selected as follows: Chou En-lai; Tung Pi-wu; Yeh Chien-ying; Wang Jo-fei; and Teng Ying-chao (wife of Chou En-lai). He said two others would be selected and group would fly to Chungking for meeting to be held probably about December 10. Wang would not venture opinion as to outcome of PCC but admitted great importance of meeting to future of China. In this connection he said that future developments in China depend even to greater extent, however, on American policy toward China and Communists are therefore eagerly awaiting arrival of General Marshall and expected clarification of American position and Wang commented that Communists are not opposed to movement of Govt, troops into Manchuria and said that they are not now opposing this movement. He expressed opinion that solution of Manchurian problem is coalition type of Govt. composed of various popular groups; Govt. should be democratic and representative of following groups: (a) long established popular resistance elements in Manchuria some of which are Communists but many are not, (b) former Manchurian soldiers of Chang Hsueh-liang, (c) Central Govt., (d) Eighth Route Army elements, including 20,000 who were captured by Japs and moved to Manchuria for labor work and also Eighth Routers who marched in after Jap surrender from Shantung and Yenan, including a few by boat from Shantung.
Wang made a particular point of stating that Soviet policy is one thing but that Chinese Communist policy is their own and independent of Soviet policy. In an apparent effort to counter recent charges in Chinese Govt press, he emphasized that Chinese Communists are particularly desirous of maintaining cordial relations with the U. S., recognizing that China must have American assistance in post-war period.