During World War II, Britain had the coldest response to China’s request for assistance. In the early days of the war, many requests for assistance were rejected. Until October 1938, when South China and Central China fell one after another, the British sphere of influence in China was basically controlled by Japan. Britain felt that its interests in China had been seriously violated, and finally decided to provide assistance to China, but only agreed to give 500,000 pounds ($2.3 million) to purchase trucks for the Burma Highway and a foreign exchange loan of 5 million pounds ($23 million). Used to stabilize China's economy. It can be said that until 1940, British military assistance to China was minimal. By the autumn of 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance, and Japan's southward march accelerated. Britain increasingly felt that the security of its Far East territories was under direct threat. Under this circumstance, Britain finally decided to cooperate with China to protect its interests in the Far East. In October 1940, British Ambassador Carr took the initiative to suggest to Chiang Kai-shek that "China can ask the UK to provide arms, ammunition, aircraft, etc. If the UK cannot raise the supply of aircraft, it can turn to the US government for supplies. China can also ask the UK to provide a loan of 1 million pounds." "In return, China needs to "consider sending 300,000 to 400,000 strong men to assist the British in fighting" and also requires China to "attack the Guangzhou area with a large army to contain the Japanese army to the south when Japan attacks Malaya and Singapore. ", and explained that the arms and ammunition consumed by China's military operation should be replenished by the United Kingdom and the United States.

Subsequently, Britain did provide China with a 10 million pound loan (46 million U.S. dollars) at the end of 1940, but the provision of weapons and equipment was an empty promise. The British informed the Chinese government that it could not provide it the same month it announced the loan. Weapons and military personnel are just verbal promises as a basis for investigating possible future cooperation, improving the status of military attachés stationed in China, expanding their military attaché offices, etc. Until the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, Britain provided financial assistance loans to China totaling 15.5 million pounds ($72 million), two-thirds of which were provided after 1940. After that, because Britain had too much to take care of in the European battlefield and needed huge amounts of aid from the United States, aid to China basically stopped.