1937年7月7日，蘆溝橋事變發生後，國民政府面對外匯與物資極度短缺的情況下，積極向外借款。不過，國民政府在外交上始終無法獲得美國實質的支持，在金融上又陷入債信危機。1938年9月，國民政府派出以上海銀行家陳光甫為首的使美財政代表團赴美協商「桐油借款」。在前人研究的基礎上，本文旨在釐清美國在桐油借款的協商過程中所提出經濟層面上的「疑慮」，以及中方對此給予的「回應」。本文主要運用美國財政部長《摩根韜日記》（Morgenthau Diaries），進一步討論使美代表團與美國財政部協商過程中所涉及之中方債信危機、借款計畫、世界貿易公司的成立與角色定位、桐油運輸的可行性等諸項議題。從這些議題可知，美方對於桐油借款有相當複雜的經濟考量，中方亦有相對應的配套措施。此外，藉由檢視桐油借款的執行成效，思考美方在協商桐油借款過程所提出疑慮的合理性。最後，從本文可知桐油借款是中美雙方歷經無數次的協商，最終簽訂合同換取彼此所需物資的國際商業借款。外匯短缺的國民政府從中獲得汽車用品與石油產品等戰時所需物資，美國則獲得國內工業需要的桐油。此一易貨貿易模式且為後來的中美滇錫、鎢砂、金屬等戰時借款，建立一個務實合作與良好債信的範例。

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937, the Chinese Nationalist government, faced with a lack of foreign exchange reserves and materials, sought assistance from various foreign governments. Unsuccessful in these attempts, it soon had a financial crisis on its hands. Thus, in September 1938, the Shanghai banker Chen Kwang-pu was sent to the United States as head of the Chinese Financial Mission, his charge being to negotiate a loan with the U.S. Treasury Department. The present study, building on the work of earlier scholars, seeks to better understand the Tung Oil Loan, as the arrangement negotiated by Chen came to be called. It examines the economic concerns raised by the American side, as well as the Chinese responses to these concerns. Much use is made of the Morgenthau Diaries, which provide an insider’s view of many of the issues the two sides grappled with: the debt crisis of the Chinese government, the loan program, the creation of the Universal Trading Corporation, and the feasibility of tung oil transportation. This study also examines the implementation of the Tung Oil Loan, which benefited both sides: China was able to obtain much needed foreign currency, with which it was able to purchase wartime materials and petroleum reserves, while the U.S., for its part, was able to acquire the tung oil that was needed by its domestic industries. The Tung Oil Loan, in essence a form of barter, became a paradigm that was used to negotiate additional loans in exchange for resources such as tin, tungsten, and other metals.