The Chinese Communist Party And John Leighton Stuart's Ambassador Career

John Leighton Stuart was a figure of great influence in both Chinese modern history and Sino-US relation, meanwhile he was also a controversial historical figure.Leigh ton Stuart was a outstanding educator and anti-Fascist in the eyes of Chinese people. He was the founder of YanJing University which had cultivated a great number of prominent talents for China and suffered a lot in the period of Anti-Japanese War. Therefore, Chinese leaders finally chose him as the American Ambassador to China instead of Albert Coady Wedemeyer who took the side of Chiang kai-shek rather than CPC.After being an ambassador to China, he tried to hold a just position and proposed a peaceful negotiation between Kuomintang and CPC in order to avoid the Chinese Civil War. The leaders of CPC placed high hopes on his role as a mediator.However, it was unexpected that the Civil War between the two parties broke out all around China. Kuomintang's troops were defeated again and again, so Leigh ton Stuart began to carry out the policy of ‘supporting Chiang kai-shek against CPC.He attempted to take advantage of American assitance to help Kuomintang with their reform in the hope of helping Kuomingtang to win the support of people and wipe out CPC. Undoubtedly, his policy was heavily criticized by CPC.After the collapse of Kuomintang, Leigh ton Stuar ignored the objections from U.S. Government and actively sought to meet the leaders of CPC. He was ready to meet Mao Zedong and Chou Enlai in Peking so as to save the relationship between CPC and American government.Nevertheless, Leigh ton Stuar's wish to meet the senior leaders of CPC failed in the end because of China's diplomatic policy of ‘taking one side'. Thus, his efforts to save the Sino-U.S.relations were in vain. In the August of 1949, Leigh ton Stuar regrettably left China where he had lived for a half century.