--- title: The Yalta Story: The Far East description: Churchill did not take part in Yalta's Far Eastern discussions. His memoirs for late 1944 show his curt dismissal of the importance of China. "This American obsession," he wrote.... canonical: https://time.com/archive/6870226/the-yalta-story-the-far-east/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 1955-03-28T05:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-13T21:23:22.954Z article:section: U.S. og:title: The Yalta Story: The Far East og:description: Churchill did not take part in Yalta's Far Eastern discussions. His memoirs for late 1944 show his curt dismissal of the importance of China. "This American obsession," he wrote.... og:url: https://time.com/archive/6870226/the-yalta-story-the-far-east/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Yalta Story: The Far East twitter:description: Churchill did not take part in Yalta's Far Eastern discussions. His memoirs for late 1944 show his curt dismissal of the importance of China. "This American obsession," he wrote.... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) # The Yalta Story: The Far East > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Project Management Institute. 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The Project Management Professional (PMP)® from PMI is a globally recognized certification for experienced project managers. For those newer to the field, PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® is a common starting point. Other notable certifications include those focused on agile methodologies, such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, and program management certifications like the Program Management Professional (PgMP)®. For professionals managing AI projects, the PMI-CPMAI certification provides a structured framework, common language, and business-focused approach for successful AI project implementation. #### How does PMI support career growth for professionals? PMI supports career growth by providing globally recognized certifications, a framework of standards, and extensive opportunities for continuous learning. Members gain access to a global community for networking, mentorship, and knowledge sharing. The organization also produces research and thought leadership on emerging trends, helping professionals stay current with skills in areas like AI, agile practices, and strategic business management. These resources are designed to help professionals at all levels enhance their skills and advance their careers. #### What is the PMBOK® Guide? The PMBOK® Guide, or A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, is PMI’s foundational guide to generally accepted project management knowledge and practice. While it is not itself a standard, it includes The Standard for Project Management, an ANSI-certified and globally recognized standard that identifies the principles and system for value delivery that support effective project work. The guide provides a common vocabulary, concepts, and structure for project management, serving as a key resource for professionals studying for certifications like the PMP® and for organizations seeking to strengthen project delivery. #### How is AI changing project management? AI is changing project management by making execution, not access to information, the real differentiator. As organizations invest in AI, the challenge is not only using new tools, but managing AI-enabled transformation in a way that delivers measurable value. Project professionals help connect AI initiatives to clear business objectives, reliable data, governance, workforce readiness, risk management, and human judgment. 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Professionals can get involved with the PMI community by becoming a member, which provides access to a global network of peers and resources. Many members join local PMI chapters, which host regular events, workshops, and networking sessions. Online, PMI's projectmanagement.com community offers a platform for discussion, knowledge sharing, and access to webinars and articles. Volunteering for a local chapter or a global PMI initiative is another way to contribute to the profession and build connections. #### What is the difference between PMP and CAPM? The PMP (Project Management Professional)® and CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management)® are both certifications offered by PMI, but they target professionals at different career stages. The CAPM is an entry-level certification designed for individuals with little or no project experience, validating their understanding of fundamental project management knowledge and terminology. The PMP is for experienced project managers and requires a combination of formal education and years of documented project leadership experience, making it a more advanced and globally recognized certification. #### How does PMI support social impact? PMI supports social impact by helping individuals, nonprofits, NGOs, and communities use project management to turn purpose into measurable outcomes. Through the PMI Educational Foundation, PMI expands access to project management education for youth worldwide, including underserved and underrepresented populations. Through Project Managers Without Borders, PMI connects chapters and volunteers with nonprofits and NGOs that need project management expertise to strengthen the effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability of social initiatives. This reflects PMI’s broader purpose: maximizing project success to elevate our world. ### Sources * Project Management Institute | [pmi.org](/c/pmi-2026-q3/home?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Fourteenth Edition" | [pmi.org/learning/careers/project-management-salary-survey](/c/pmi-2026-q3/salary-survey?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Global Project Management Talent Gap" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/global-project-management-talent-gap](/c/pmi-2026-q3/talent-gap?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Maximizing Project Success" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/project-success?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse Report 2025: Boosting Business Acumen” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/boosting-business-acumen](/c/pmi-2026-q3/business-acumen?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse of the Profession® 2026: Driving Success in Complex Projects” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/driving-success-in-complex-projects](/c/pmi-2026-q3/complex-projects?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Step Up: Redefining the Path to Project Success with M.O.R.E.” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/path-to-project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/more-mindset?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI Education Foundation, PMIEF 2024 Annual Report, [pmi.org PMIEF 2024 Annual Report (PDF)](/c/pmi-2026-q3/pmief-report?i=215dbef0-62f6-4362-aa0a-f4438b2c5226&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) ### FAQ structured data (JSON-LD, optional) by [TIME](https://time.com/author/time/) Mar 28, 1955 5:00 AM UTC by [TIME](https://time.com/author/time/) Mar 28, 1955 5:00 AM UTC Churchill did not take part in Yalta’s Far Eastern discussions. His memoirs for late 1944 show his curt dismissal of the importance of China. “This American obsession,” he wrote. “That China is one of the world’s four great powers is an absolute farce.” At Yalta Churchill was content to let Roosevelt and Stalin play out the farce by themselves. The Background. Their private conferences at Yalta had a background that revealed Roosevelt’s willingness to expand the Russian position in the Far East, where the defeat of Japan and the civil war in China were to create a power vacuum. ¶ As early as October 1943, during a visit to Moscow, Secretary Hull reported Stalin’s promise, without being asked and without attaching strings, thatRussia would fight Japan after finishing up in Europe. ¶ At Teheran, five weeks later, Stalin repeated the pledge. He also let it be known that he would like a warm-water port in the Far East. Churchill remarked that Russia already had Vladivostok. Stalin replied it wasn’t always ice-free. Roosevelt suggested the Russians might have access to Dairen, in Manchuria. ¶ All through 1944 the U.S., through diplomatic channels in Moscow, sought to translate Stalin’s pledge to fight Japan into a military plan. The Russians stalled. It now seems clear that Stalin passed down a nyet until he had made sure of his territorial ambitions in the Far East. These were finally laid out in full detail and traced on a map by Stalin in a conversation with Ambassador Harriman on Dec. 14, 1944\. Items on the Kremlin’s demand list: “return” to Russia of Japan’s Kurils and southern Sakhalin; leases on Manchuria’s Port Arthur and Dairen, plus operating rights on the Manchurian railways; China’s surrender of its claims to Sovietized Outer Mongolia. ¶ U.S. State Department experts looked askance on some of Stalin’s claims. They recommended that 1) southern Sakhalin and the northern Kurils should not be annexed by Russia, but should be assigned as trusteeships; and 2) the southern Kurils should be kept for Japan. ¶ At Malta, four days before Yalta, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told Stettinius that the U.S. need not grant such concessions to Russia. “In his view,” report the State Department’s minutes of the Malta Conference, “if the Russians decided to enter the war against Japan, they would take the decision because they considered it in their interests that the Japanese war should not be successfully finished by the U.S. and Great Britain alone. There was therefore no need for us to offer a high price for their participation.” Foreground. Whether or not this clear-eyed British counsel reached his ears or understanding, Roosevelt ignored it. Bohlen’s minutes show the President ready to give Stalin just what he wanted. Exchanges from the Yalta record: Stalin vaguely agrees he will order his military planners to sit down with their U.S. counterparts to work out a common war against Japan. But he is eager to get to the “political conditions.” Roosevelt quickly replies there is “no difficulty whatsoever” over the Kurils and southern Sakhalin. As to Dairen, it ought to be a free port. Stalin remarks the Russians won’t be “difficult.” He has no objections to “an internationalized port.” But what about the Manchurian railways? Roosevelt has two plans ready: the railways might be leased by the Russians, or jointly operated by Russia and China. Stalin says slyly that without such concessions “it would be difficult … to explain to the Soviet people why Russia was entering the war against Japan … a country with which they had no great trouble.” Roosevelt several times explains that he has not consulted Chiang Kaishek. Stalin says that “it would be well to leave here with these conditions set forth in writing, agreed to by the three powers.” Roosevelt unhesitatingly thinks “this could be done.” Thus Stalin had his prize in hand. Two days later Molotov handed to Harriman a draft of Stalin’s political conditions. With Roosevelt’s approval Harriman suggested some changes. Most important: Port Arthur should be internationalized. Stalin came personally to Harriman, and what followed is reported by Harriman: “\[Stalin\] said that he was entirely willing to have Dairen a freeport under international control, but that Port Arthur was different. It was to be a Russian naval base, and therefore Russia required a lease. I suggested to Marshal Stalin that he take the opportunity to discuss this matter at once with the President, which he thereupon did. The President agreed to Marshal Stalin’s revised proposal. . . “The President asked . . . whether Stalin wished the President to take \[these matters\] up with the Generalissimo (Chiang Kai-shek\], “Marshal Stalin replied that as he was an interested party he would prefer to have the President do it …” Not once do the records show Roosevelt arguing on behalf of China’s independence, or making the point of China’s need for Manchuria’s industrial production. There was no hint of the long American recognition of China’s independence as the key to stability in Asia. Stalin, in the imperialist tradition of the czars, remembered Port Arthur; Roosevelt forgot John Hay and the Open Door. The U.S. copy of the agreement was kept in a secret White House file by Admiral Leahy. The President said not a word about it, even to his special adviser, Jimmy Byrnes, who denied six months after he became Secretary of State that such a paper existed. Sequel. The President did not live to see Chiang Kai-shek’s concurrence. But it was given, angrily yet inevitably. The Sino-Soviet treaties with all of Stalin’s demands in Manchuria and Outer Mongolia were signed Aug. 14, 1945—the day Japan surrendered. In return for Chiang’s concurrence, Stalin recognized Chinese sovereignty over Manchuria, promised Chiang military and economic aid. Instead, over the next four years, Stalin blocked Nationalist China’s return to Manchuria; Stalin armed and otherwise abetted the Chinese Communists as they built up a decisive army in Manchuria; Stalin looted Manchuria of $2 billion worth of Japanese industrial equipment on which Chiang had counted for China’s economic uplift. Then, in late 1949, two days after Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the Chinese Communist state, Stalin withdrew formal recognition from Chiang and gave it to his longtime Chinese protégé. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6870226/the-yalta-story-the-far-east/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6870226/the-yalta-story-the-far-east/"},"headline":"The Yalta Story: The Far East","datePublished":"1955-03-28T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-13T21:23:22.954Z","description":"Churchill did not take part in Yalta's Far Eastern discussions. 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