102.1/2–2547: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 25—9:10 a.m.]
369. From Adler to Secretary of Treasury. Saw Soong this morning. (ReEmbtels 34494 and 345 of February 22.) In reply to a general question, he said the recent emergency measures had been politically successful but did not affect the underlying economic situation and, therefore, gave only temporary respite. He informed me that about US dollars one quarter million of currency were being turned in daily to Central Bank, chiefly in form of gold notes and notes of large denominations; he did not expect this inflow to continue for long. Exports and inward remittances had also picked up for the time being.
[Page 1082]He then took up the subject of the mobilization of Chinese private assets abroad and asked how soon I expected to hear from the Treasury, to which I replied, “probably around the end of the week”. He showed me the final draft of the supplementary foreign exchange regulations reported in Embtel 345. The most important change was the inclusion of vesting in the regulations; this apparently had been added by O. K. Yui.95 The measure is to go before the Supreme National Defense Council tomorrow. [Adler.]