893.24/5–2947
The Chairman of the Chinese Supply Commission (Wang) to the Director of the Office of Financial and Development Policy (Ness)
Dear Mr. Ness: The Agreement between the Governments of the United States and the Republic of China on the Disposition of Lend-Lease Supplies in Inventory or Procurement in the United States, signed June 14, 1946,67 provides that the terms of payment set forth in the Agreement, including rate of interest, may be altered by mutual agreement at the time of the final settlement for lend-lease aid. The Agreement also provides for the postponement of payment of a due installment where it is determined by agreement of both governments that, because of extraordinary and adverse conditions arising during the course of payment, payment would not be in their joint interest.
The Governments of the United States and of the Republic of China are about to start negotiations for a final settlement covering lend-lease aid and related matters. Since the Agreement of June 14, 1946, contemplates a review of the terms of payment during the course of such negotiations, and since the exact amount of the first installment due under the Agreement cannot be determined for lack of complete information as to quantities shipped, it would seem preferable to postpone payment of the installment due on July 1, 1947, without prejudice to the interests of either party, until after the conclusion of the aforesaid negotiations, when the matter can have been examined in detail. We propose, therefore, that this payment be postponed accordingly.
I hope that you will agree that the reasons outlined fully justify this step.
Yours very truly,
- Signed at Washington, Department of State Treaties and Other International Act Series No. 1533, or 60 Stat. (pt. 2) 1760. For previous correspondence on this subject, see Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. x, p. 724.↩