Evening star., 1953-12-17
Mr.. Kedo Goes to China

An interesting and perhaps genuinely sig
nifcant evaluation of life behind the Bamboo
Curtain of Red China-political, economic and
military in its varying implicationS-h been
given by MasanoSuke Ikeda, Japanese business
man and member of Parliament. Mr.. Ikeda
recently spent month in Communist China,
exploring the permissible trade possibilities
between his country and its biggest and most
convenient potential commercial neighbor
Mr.. 1kedaS mission signed tentative con-
tracts" with the Chinese for japanese purchase
Of 100000 tons of coking coal, 800 900 tons of
salt and other unSpecifled raw materials. In
return, there were discussions of Japan's supply
ing construction materials, steel plate fertilizer,
medicines, galvanized iron, rolling stock and
rails. In the face of Chinese insistence that
Japan should export machinery and certain
other finished products now embargoed as hav-
ing military potential, the Ikeda mission took
a firmly resistant position and declared there
could be no trade agreement at all at this time
unless the Chinese demands were kept within
the list of non -embargoed items.
In an interview with a correspondent for
u S. News and World Report in Tokyo, how
ever, Mr. Ikeda discussed much more than the
limited commercial purpose of his China visit.
From the political standpoint, for example, his
reaction was that the Communist government
of Mao TSe-tung is following policy of win
ming public support by relatively mild" pro-
gram of permitting certain amount of private
enterprise, of taking steps to see that foodStuffs
are widely available in quantity even If not in
high quality, of spreading propaganda about
the friendly and benevolent aid which is COM
ing from Communist Russia and the counter
part propaganda about the imperialist designs
of the Western powers in general and the
United States in particular He believes now
that the Chinese people are confident they will
be some day the No. people in the world and
that "they now heartily support the Mao Tse-
tung government If the same Communist
revolutionary tactics" should. be applied to
Korea and to Southeast Asia, he believes COM
munism could become a real danger"
On the military side, Mr.. Ikeda said his
group had seen Russian MICS, rocket artillery
and various kinds of modern arms OF non
Chinese manufacture. Asked whether these
might be employed in an aggression against
Southeast Asia, the Japanese observer said he
believed the first Chinese maneuver will be to
seek the friendship "of the masses" through
economic help and propaganda directed against
"the imperialist nations" After declining to
elaborate on his precise view of the Chinese
military threat southwark however, he added:
"I suppose such an attack is inevitable in the
end"
Mr. Ikeda concluded his interview on a
rather disturbing note when asked what policy
he thinks the United States should have toward
Red China. His answer was this:
consider this problem from the stand
point of the Japanese. I think it would help
prevent another war if the United States.
instead of remaining hostile. would have
friendly relations with Red China. hope
the Americans will understand that the Jap
anese people believe this
Although Mr.. Ikedas party afhlation was
not identified in the interview, he is described
as a conservative" in his political and business
PHILOSOPHERS This is borne out by his reference
to some "leftist" informers whom he said he
could not really trust" 1t seems fair to infer.
therefore that he is not knowingly lending
himself to pro- Communist evaluation of what
he saw in China. In this light, his observations
of Communist controlled China that seemed
to him reasonably prosperous and confident OF
it's future that is being well armed and may
have an inevitable" mission to attack South
east Asia some day if not soon, add up to
picture of formidable anti-WeStern power In
Asia The continuing policies OF Japan, pollt-
cal and economic, toward this mainland power
will be of vital Importance to the West, and the
feelings of Japanese businessman and leg
isator may have great bearing on the direction
of these policies. The interview was an ennght-
ening one in this respect