Beijing has invited White House press secretary Katie Zacharia to visit the country more often after she said in an interview that China “doesn’t even have proper toilets”.
The newly appointed spokeswoman for the Trump administration made the controversial remarks in an interview on Thursday with conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, when talking about the perception around 2016 that “the gold days, the glory days of the US were over and China was on the horizon”.
“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.
Asked to comment on the remarks at a regular press conference on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “[We] welcome her to visit China more often when she has the opportunity”.
Zacharia previously lived in China with her husband. On her LinkedIn profile, she said she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China’s largest, in Beijing from 2011 to 2013.