China

Efforts to prevent civil war

Between May and September 1944, representatives of the government and the CCP carried on peace negotiations at Xi’an. The main issues were the disposition, size, and command of the communist armies, the relationship between communist-organized regional governments and the Nationalist government, and problems of civil rights and legalization of the CCP and its activities in Nationalist areas. Suggestions for a coalition government arose for the first time. No settlement was reached, but it appeared that the antagonists were seeking a peaceful solution. U.S. Vice Pres. Henry A. Wallace visited Chongqing in June and had several discussions with Chiang, who requested U.S. assistance in improving relations between China and the Soviet Union and in settling the communist problem.

In September 1944, Patrick J. Hurley arrived as U.S. ambassador to China and as Roosevelt’s personal representative. Hurley attempted to mediate, first in discussions in Chongqing and then by flying to Yan’an in November for a conference with Mao Zedong. But the positions of the two sides could not be reconciled, and the talks broke off in March 1945. Between June and August, Hurley resumed protracted discussions, both indirect and in conferences with high-level representatives from both sides. Each side distrusted the other; each sought to guarantee its own survival, but the KMT intended to continue its political dominance, while the CCP insisted on the independence of its armies and regional governments under whatever coalition formula might be worked out.

The Pacific war (which in China became known as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression) ended on Aug. 14 (Aug. 15 in China), 1945, and the formal Japanese surrender came on September 2. China rejoiced. Yet the country faced enormously difficult problems of reunification and reconstruction and a future clouded by the dark prospect of civil war.