Pompeo Photo:AFP

Despite Donald Trump's apparent defeat in the US presidential election, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo continues to hit out at China, who boasted the US is "not finished yet" on China, which Chinese analysts called the anti-China loser's last chance to air his frustration in dealing with China. 

He will continue to repeat those anti-China clichés that more US politicians had played in the past decades - such as topics related to the Taiwan Straits, the South China Sea and human rights, which won't resonate - and will try to leave a messy "diplomatic legacy" for the upcoming US administration, analysts noted.  

In a Tuesday speech at the Ronald Reagan Institute, Pompeo used some of his strongest rhetoric against China, describing the Communist Party of China as a "Marxist-Leninist monster," detailing the administration's China policies, and also said the US is "not finished yet" when it comes to getting tough on China, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. 

After Joe Biden declared his victory for the US presidential election and Trump is apparently suffering a loss, Pompeo did not abandon his anti-China rhetoric. Being the secretary of state who lashed out the most toward China and the Chinese government in history, Pompeo clearly cannot concede his failure in dealing with the China-related issues, Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times. 

"Pompeo is frustrated in dealing with China. His intention to discredit China in the international arena frequently ended in nothing, like the previous so-called anti-China Asian tour. It's like a farce to watch," Lü said.

By voicing an anti-China rhetoric, the ant-China loser wants to leave a messy "diplomatic legacy" for the Trump administration, said Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University. Li speculated that more "risky" moves against China would be made by Pompeo in his last 70 days in office.

However, Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times that any risky move toward China would be confined to the same tired topics related to the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea, or accusations of China violating human rights, and he would make a fuss on questions on Hong Kong affairs. 

"His move against China in the next 70 days would be nothing more than overlying those anti-China cliches. The chance of jolting China is low," Diao said, explaining that during the power transition, the possibility that the US Congress would pass legislation or the military would cooperate with Pompeo is unlikely.

Pompeo's remarks came a day after the US Department of State slapped sanctions against four officials from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland for allegedly "threatening the peace, security and autonomy of Hong Kong." 

Echoing Diao, Lü Xiang told the Global Times that to demonstrate his strong tone toward China, Pompeo would also create problems for Chinese institutions in the US, such as Chinese academic organs, scholars or China's Confucius Institute. 

The actions against China are likely to intensify US-China antagonism, and narrow the Biden administration's flexibility on China-related issues after it takes office, observers noted.

After Trump is booted from the office, there are voices that Pompeo would take a presidential race in the future. But Lü believes "the clown" has not gained enough political resources for him to run.