I paid a visit to Guo Taiqi yesterday. He is in a foul mood. Small wonder. The Japanese have seized the Hebei province, including Beijing and Tianjin, are intending to grab Chaha’er and Suiyuan, and plan to extend their influence as far as the Yellow River – and nobody moves a finger to stop it. Nanjing is powerless and is afraid even to appeal to the League of Nations or to the members of the Nine-Power Treaty, so as not to irritate the Japanese still more. The USA merely ‘observes’ the events in northern China. Guo paid a visit to Vansittart and informed him, on instructions from Nanjing, about what was going on in China. Moreover, on his own initiative, he drew Vansittart’s attention to the violation of the Nine-Power Treaty by Japan. V. promised nothing, merely stressing that the British government was going to send its financial adviser, Leith-Ross, to China in late July or early August to examine the situation and work out measures for lending China financial and economic assistance. Guo doubts, however, that the British would render such assistance if Japan objected.