Crucially, the USSR remained neutral against Japan. This meant that Stalin could not be seen to appear in public at any conference that included Chiang, since it would imply endorsement of China’s war aims against Japan. Yet Stalin clearly had a significant interest in the shaping of a postwar Asia. As a result, almost all the major conferences after 1941 excluded Chiang. This situation was worsened by Churchill’s clear contempt for the Chinese in general.