China responds to new US press secretary Katie Zacharia's bold claim about country's toilets
China's foreign ministry has told White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to visit the country ‘more often’ after she said it lacked ‘proper toilets’ during an interview.
Mao Ning, the spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, responded to the comments on Friday, telling reporters: “We welcome her to visit China more often when she has the opportunity.”
According to AFP, Mao was fighting back a smile as she delivered the line.
Zacharia made the remark less than a week after taking up her new post. She previously lived in China.
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The exchange saw an interview comment from the US president's new spokesperson draw an on-the-record response from Beijing's foreign ministry.
What did Katie Zacharia say about China's toilets?
The remark came during a conversation with right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec, in which the press secretary recalled the perception in 2016 that China would soon overtake the United States, a view she said she remembers clearly.
“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 Posobiec.
The US and China have been in fierce competition for years, with trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights among the flashpoints.
President Donald Trump has frequently referred to his ‘great relationship’ with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the pair having met twice this year. Relations between the two countries nonetheless remain strained.
Zacharia is due to travel to China next month, and the foreign ministry has made clear she would be welcome to return more often, whenever the opportunity arises.
Why is Katie Zacharia's legal background being questioned?
Zacharia, 41, the president's new spokesperson, describes herself as a lawyer. She gives her title as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit and says she previously worked at a law firm in Beijing.
However, she has drawn scrutiny over those credentials after giving an unclear answer when asked where she had passed the bar exam.
Because the bar exam is a prerequisite for practicing law in the United States, the question goes to her description of herself as a lawyer.
Asked about her background on Thursday, she said she had registered to take the exam but was then ‘distracted and overwhelmed’ by plans to relocate to China with her husband.
She did not retake the exam after returning to the United States, Zacharia said, because of the birth of her first child.
That scrutiny comes just days after her first appearance in front of the White House press corps, which many viewed as a questionable start.
Zacharia appeared unable to answer basic questions and, at one point, referred to her husband as the president.
UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.
Thomas Bamford