US sanctions: China urges Pompeo to ‘wind up the show’

China has criticized the latest US sanctions over Hong Kong, calling on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “wind up the show” and stop trying in vain, as his days in office are counted.

Only days before the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden, Pompeo announced a host of measures against China over what he called Beijing’s “actions that erode Hong Kong's freedoms and democratic processes.”

In response, China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said on Monday, “People like Pompeo are nothing but laughable praying mantises who are trying in vain to stop the rolling wheels of history."  

Pompeo slaps sanctions on China, Cuba

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slaps new sanctions on China and Cuba.

Likening the US diplomat to a mantis, the office was referring to a Chinese idiom that describes futility in which a mantis tries to stop a chariot with its legs.

It called the latest sanctions as "a political trick when all other tricks are exhausted,” calling on Pompeo to "wind up the show" as President Donald Trump’s tenure has come to an end.

The Hong Kong government has also denounced the sanctions as "insane, shameless and despicable.”

Hong Kong 'strongly' slams critical US congressional report

The Hong Kong government “strongly” slams a US congressional report on Beijing’s policies in the city, censuring it as “biased, politically motivated and not reflecting the truth.”

Hong Kong has been governed under the “one-country, two-systems” model since British rule ended, meaning that Chinese sovereignty is applied even though the city has its own government.

President Donald Trump’s administration, however, has long been seeking to incite anti-government protests in the city under the guise of defending “democracy.”

It has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for what it described as “undermining Hong Kong's democratic processes.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk