50 Years Ago

NANKING (December 9): AMERICAN businessmen resident in China are to-day expressing desire to trade with the Chinese Communists, and several, in response to queries, have been informed by U.S. officials that Washington has made no ruling to prevent such commercial activity.

U.S. consular offices and the Embassy in Nanking have been approached by individual businessmen to ascertain whether the State Department will bar their doing business with Chinese Communists.

An American Embassy spokesman said that although evacuation notices had been circularised that women and children and non-essential individuals should move elsewhere while means of travel still existed, 'there was no intention of influencing other Americans with substantial interests in China to abandon their interests or remove their representation.' American business circles here, although cognisant of the international ramifications involved, are hoping for a clear-cut statement of American policy on what the official attitude will be toward their trading relationship with the Communists.

Intend To Remain One representative of an American company with comparatively extensive interests in China said his firm intended to remain, and, if possible, do business with the Communists unless the State Department ordered them out. This view is typical.

Foreign businessmen believe the Communists will face the pressing problem of supply immediately if they take over the Lower Yangtze River valley, with its large cities such as Shanghai and Nanking.

To keep the industrial machinery alone of Shanghai, with its over 1,000,000 workers working, imports of oil, is of great concern to those with interests there.