U.S. MISSION TO CHINA

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25246, 26 July 1947, Page 9

U.S. MISSION TO CHINA

Reported Advocacy Of Reforms NATIONALIST HOPES FOR AID (N.Z. Press Association-Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) NANKING, July 24. A high official source said that Lieutenant-General Albert Wedemeyer’s American mission to China has exerted strong pressure on Marshal Chiang Kai-shek to make drastic reforms in his Government, and reduce his military budget. The informant, who appeared confident that the United States would soon give open substantial aid to Marshal Chiang, said that the Nationalist Army should be modernised, retrained, And used to restrict the Communists to the areas which they now

hold. United Stater, loans should be used mainly to restore railway communications, and American advisers should be placed in China to ensure the efficient use of the materials and money lent. A later message says that influential American military and diplomatic officials in China are opposed tnis time to granting further , large-scale military aid to the National Government. The Chinese military leaders, however, expect that as a result of General Wedemeyef’s mission the United States will supply large quantities of war equipment. One of the main purposes of Gen-' eral Wedemeyer’s visit is to deliberate on the pros and cons of the Kuomintang view that the granting of substantial supplies of United States equipment and money would help to annihilate Communism and stabilise the economic and social conditions of the country. The American officials’ opposition to the granting of further aid springs from their conviction that Communism in China can neither be crushed nor even contained by the National Government’s continuing reliance on military measures. They consider that basic measures aimed at improving the social, economic, and political conditions of the Chinese people must first be taken if the spread of Communism is to be halted.

One high-ranking Chinese officer, whose views indicate how the Chinese High Command is thinking, declared to-day that China needs a minimum of 30 additional divisions totalling 300,000 men, trained and equipped along American lines, before the Communist military threat can be considered ended.

American Army officers, expressing surprise at this estimate, said the Nationalists are already known to have more than 2,500,000 men under arms. The Nationalist need, they emphasise, lies not in more men or equipment but rather in a thorough overhauling of their top-heavy, inefficient military machine to reduce its bulk and increase its mobility and combat efficiency, and also to stimulate an aggressiva esprit de corps.