What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, dated November sixth, nineteen-fifty-eight. It concerns a suggestion from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to reimpose trade controls against Communist China. This document highlights the intelligence community's assessment of China's military capabilities and supply chain in the late nineteen-fifties. You can find this document at archive.org. This record was released through the National Archives and Records Administration, N-A-R-A, under job number NND-961-176-474, with a declassification date of February twenty-eighth, nineteen-ninety-six. It originates from a collection of U.S. intelligence documents on China. The document is a memorandum for the Director, Office of Intelligence Research and Reporting, Department of State. It is addressed to Mr. John G. Oliver and is subject: Office of Secretary of Defense Suggestion for Reimposition of Trade Controls. It reads: “We have discussed the following which is in response to the memorandum from Acting Secretary of Defense Quarles, which suggests that certain multilateral embargoes be reimposed against Communist China. One. The controls proposed in the O-S-D memorandum would, we believe, in no way deter the present level of activity in the Taiwan Strait. Two. The disposition of forces now being built up suggests continued through earlier Russian shipments of military equipment are more than sufficient to sustain the present or higher level of activity in this area for some time to come. Three. It is, of course, possible that a high level of Communist Chinese air activity in the Taiwan area might be reduced to some extent in the future by an effective restriction of tanker tonnage available to Communist Chinese. Chinese present demand for petroleum fuels purportedly exceeds the capability for overland supply from the U-S-S-R; the bottleneck is principally the Chinese rail system. On the other hand, even if seaborne shipments of P-O-L are interdicted, a fairly modest reallocation of existing supplies would permit the support of much limited action as that in the Taiwan Strait. Four. Because of limited capacity of overland supply, any significant increase in present levels of China's demand for petroleum will require either charter of Western tankers or the employment of Soviet tankers. Even in this case it should be pointed out that the numbers of tankers required would not be great. For example, the probable movement of two hundred thousand tons of Soviet petroleum to China by June thirtieth, nineteen-fifty-nine, could have been moved by only four Soviet tankers. Of the total of nine hundred ships in the Soviet tanker fleet, one hundred and fifty of them are of the type required for such voyages. Five. We think it is important to emphasize that the partial embargo of selected strategic goods could be expected to have no significant impact on Communist Chinese military effectiveness. In a controlled economy, the size of Communist…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum, Dated November Sixth

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, dated November sixth, nineteen-fifty-eight. It concerns a suggestion from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to reimpose trade controls against Communist China. This document highlights the intelligence community's assessment of China's military capabilities and supply chain in the late nineteen-fifties.

Date: SEP 20 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

↯ Dispatch — press play1:00

0:001:00

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum, Dated November Sixth about?: This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, dated November sixth, nineteen-fifty-eight. It concerns a suggestion from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to reimpose trade controls against Communist China. This document highlights the intelligence community's assessment of China's military capabilities and supply chain in the late nineteen-fifties.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum, Dated November Sixth

Questions about this case

Related cases

Department Of The Army Staff Communication Dated September Fifteen, Nineteen

CIA Declassified Presents A Current Intelligence Weekly Review From November Sixth

CIA Chicom Requirements For Talent Coverage

FBI From "declassified", A Storyflo Podcast.

Today, We Examine A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Record, A Central

Questions about this case

Related cases

Department Of The Army Staff Communication Dated September Fifteen, Nineteen

CIA Declassified Presents A Current Intelligence Weekly Review From November Sixth

CIA Chicom Requirements For Talent Coverage

FBI From "declassified", A Storyflo Podcast.

Today, We Examine A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Record, A Central

Get the next declassified case in your inbox