Beijing: Admiral Harry Harris has been described in China as the "most prejudiced" US military chief since World War II, following reports he could be appointed ambassador to Australia.
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Chinese military analysts said sending Admiral Harris, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, to Australia was an attempt by the US to pull Australia back into full support of the American Asia Pacific strategy, and get tougher on China.
The Global Times newspaper quoted Zhang Junshe, researcher with China Naval Research Institute, as saying Admiral Harris was "the most prejudiced and Cold War-minded chief of all US pacific commanders since WWII".
Admiral Harris has publicly opposed China's "increasing assertiveness" in the South China Sea, where he has been a proponent of freedom of navigation patrols by US vessels to challenge China's territorial claims. Australia had declined invitations to join the US patrols.
Mr Zhang said the US Navy's seventh fleet, under Admiral Harris's command, has seen "continuous accidents".
Shanghai-based The Paper said Admiral Harris had previously called for the US to increase its missile capacity against the People's Liberation Army.
It comes as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, called for China to go beyond United Nations Security Council sanctions and cut off oil supplies to North Korea.
His comments came despite a fierce response from China's Foreign Ministry a day earlier to US allies calling on China to "do more".
China's spokeswoman Hua Chunying accused countries calling for China to increase pressure on North Korea of "pointing fingers while stabbing in your back".
On Sydney radio, Mr Turnbull said China should go further than its agreement to ban trade in iron ore, coal, seafood and new investment with North Korea, and cut off its oil pipeline.
"If you cut off their access to energy, their regime would struggle to survive. I think that is what China needs to do," Mr Turnbull said.
It is believed the US, Japan and Britain will push for new UN sanctions on oil.
Chinese analysts have said Beijing would only cut the oil supply to sanction a North Korean nuclear test, which is Beijing's red line.
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua said on Thursday "its not a computer game. It's a real situation, it directly bears on the people of the peninsula".
After North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, the US renewed pressure on China to go further than the $US1.5billion ($1.9billion) in trade sanctions set to be imposed on North Korea from next week.
China's Foreign Ministry snapped back, accusing the countries calling for China to exert more pressure of selectively implementing UN Security Council resolutions, by over-emphasising sanctions while overlooking peace talks.
"We have seen some with their own axe to grind, some pointing fingers while stabbing in your back, and some muddying the water to seek profits, or even risking getting burnt to gain what they want. They are the loudest when it comes to sanctions, but nowhere to be found when it comes to making efforts to promote peace talks," she said.
???China was angered by the US recently imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese and Russian companies caught dealing with North Korea.
