China invites Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia to visit after ‘proper toilets’ slur

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.

01:42

Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia raises eyebrows over legal credentials

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.

She faced scrutiny over her legal credentials after she told reporters on Tuesday that she had passed a bar exam “when I moved to China”, without specifying the jurisdiction. Chinese law firms can hire foreign nationals, but they cannot be licensed as lawyers in China.

She acknowledged in the same interview that she had sat the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 but did not pass. Zacharia told Posobiec there had been “a lot of misinformation” about the fact that she “labelled myself ‘lawyer’”.

The White House has defended her, with communications director Steven Cheung saying “she is uniquely qualified and whip smart”.

She could be returning to China as early as next month when President Donald Trump is expected to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Zacharia’s toilet comments are at odds with Trump’s warm stance towards Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump hosted in Washington last month, after the United States president made a state visit to China in May.

Trump pulled out all the stops to make Xi’s visit a grand affair and the two leaders met several times during the visit, including at a ceremonial airport welcome, a White House reception and for talks on a wide range of topics, including trade, tariffs and Taiwan.

04:52

‘New joint arrangement’ on trade as Xi meets Trump at White House

The two presidents are also expected to meet in Miami in December for the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit.

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After Trump and Xi’s meeting in Washington, the two sides pledged to build a “constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness and reciprocity”.