China invites Trump press aide to visit after 'toilet' jibe
China's foreign ministry invited White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to visit "more often" after she said the country lacked "proper toilets". The remarks came days into her new post and amid strained US-China ties.
Beijing on Friday told White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to visit China "more often", after she said the country lacked "proper toilets" less than a week into her new post.
Zacharia, who previously lived in China and is due to visit next month, recalled in an interview the perception in 2016 that China would soon overtake the United States.
"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 told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec.
In response, China's foreign ministry on Friday suggested she may want to make another trip to the country.
"We welcome her to visit China more often when she has the opportunity," spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters, fighting back a smile.
The remarks come after years of intense rivalry between Washington and Beijing over issues from trade and technology to Taiwan and human rights. US President Donald Trump has often spoken about his "great relationship" with China's President Xi Jinping, whom he has met twice this year, though ties remain strained.
Zacharia's comments follow a widely criticised debut before the White House press corps, in which she appeared unable to answer basic questions and at one point referred to her husband as the president. The 41-year-old is also under scrutiny over her legal credentials after giving an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practising law in the United States.
The self-described lawyer lists herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit and says 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 was then "distracted and overwhelmed" by plans to move with her husband to China. She said she did not retake the exam upon returning to the United States due to the birth of her first child.