China urged White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to visit the country more often on Friday after she said China lacked “proper toilets”, sparking a diplomatic exchange less than a week into her new role.
“We welcome her to visit China more often when she has the opportunity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters, smiling as she responded to Zacharia’s remarks.
Zacharia made the comments in an interview with right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec, recalling how she had questioned predictions in 2016 that China would soon overtake the United States economically.
“I remember this very distinctly, having just come from China, thinking, ‘How is China the next country on the horizon? They don’t even have proper toilets,’” she said.
Zacharia previously lived in China and is due to visit next month.
Scrutiny over first briefing
Her remarks come amid heightened US-China competition over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, despite US President Donald Trump’s repeated statements about his “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders have met twice this year.
Zacharia has also faced scrutiny following her first White House press briefing, during which critics questioned her responses to basic questions and noted an apparent verbal slip in which she referred to her husband as the president.
The 41-year-old has separately faced questions about her legal credentials after giving an inconclusive account of whether she had passed the bar exam, a requirement to practise law in the United States.
Zacharia describes herself as a lawyer and lists herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative non-profit. She has also said she previously worked at a law firm in Beijing.
Asked about her legal background on Thursday, she said she had registered to take the bar exam but became “distracted and overwhelmed” by plans to move to China with her husband.
She said she did not retake the exam after returning to the United States because of the birth of her first child.
