US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) are seen during a press conference in Jerusalem on Aug. 24, 2020. (Amit Shabi/JINI via Xinhua)

US Secretary of the State Mike Pompeo might be the most infamous and unpopular US Secretary of the State in China. After drawing scorn from domestic diplomats for the rule-breaking address at the Republican National Convention on Monday (US local time), Pompeo was slammed by China's flagship state media People's Daily on Tuesday in a three-page article.

The article, which the Xinhua News Agency originally ran on Monday in both Chinese and English, refutes Pompeo's malicious smears and lies against China on the Communist Party of China, COVID-19, trade, Huawei, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hong Kong affairs and the South China Sea. The long article with 31,000 Chinese characters also posted  amid Pompeo's anti-China propaganda trip to Israel, in which he falsely pushed his idea about the threat of China's global presence. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to Pompeo on Tuesday, slamming him for stigmatizing China with lies based on his own ideological prejudices. "China will not sit idly and allow his capricious deeds," ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing. 

On Pompeo's anti-China move and breaking domestic political protocols, observers noted that when people guess where the bottom of Pompeo's reputation is, Donald Trump's "lackey" always offers surprises. And with his botched performance on foreign and domestic issues and his political credibility in tatters, Pompeo's political future within the Republican Party might fade away together with Trump's reelection chances. 

Some Chinese experts believe that being anti-China may be the only job Pompeo can cope with for the rest of his life, rather than seeking cooperation and peace, which is pathetic.

Pompeo's ideological prejudice against China, the Cold War mentality, and 2024 presidential election ambitions motivate his incessant anti-China moves, Diao Daming, a China-US relations expert at the Renmin University, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that Pompeo is set to continue on his path.  

Diao said the capricious and "Frankenstein actions" of the Trump administration against China showcase the selfishness of US politicians like Pompeo, as they have been taking advantage of anti-China propaganda to cater to their own needs.

US media revealed Pompeo's 2024 ambitions, and described him as the worst and most partisan US Secretary of the State ever, as he has politicized the office and debased the institution to advance his personal political interests, and to cover for Trump's incompetence. 

Pompeo is left with few choices after the president election, Diao said, adding that Pompeo is facing grave challenges if Trump fails to win. "There is no proper position for him in the Republican Party. He might work at a think tank to continue propagating his 'anti-China' ideology…and even if Trump wins the election, it is doubtful whether Pompeo will remain as Secretary of State."In an article in The Atlantic in July, Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, called Pompeo's attitude toward China "surreal," citing his remarks on the Trump presidency at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. Wright also elaborated on Pompeo's "ultra-loyal" behavior toward Trump.

In an Washington Post op-ed in July, Richard Haass, president of the US Council on Foreign Relations, bluntly called the nation's chief diplomat "decidedly undiplomatic," and pointed out Pompeo's misrepresentation of history and failure to suggest a coherent or viable attitude toward China, in his "blistering" speech about China at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library.