After her dismissal... Why did China invite White House spokeswoman Katie Zakaria to visit her?

- Beijing has invited Katie Zakaria, who was recently fired as White House press secretary, to visit China again, after she claimed in a recent interview that the country lacks "decent restrooms." Katie Zakaria, who was fired by President Donald Trump less than a week after taking office after being subjected to intense scrutiny, was severely criticized for her statements about toilets, while speaking with far-right podcast host Jack Posobiec on Thursday.

Discussing the perception in the run-up to the 2016 US election that America's golden days were over, and that China was on the rise, Zakaria said: “I remember this very clearly, when I had just returned from China, that I wondered: How can China be the next rising power?” Asked about these comments on Friday, Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, commented sarcastically: “She is welcome to come and see China any time she has the opportunity.”

On the Chinese “Weibo” platform, which is widely popular and is considered similar to the “X” platform, Katie Zakaria’s comments sparked widespread reactions, with many describing her as “foolish,” while others admitted that some toilets actually lacked the required standards a decade ago. Since the start of economic reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, China has aggressively clawed its way to becoming the world's second-largest economy, with hundreds of millions lifted out of poverty and the nation transformed. However, development disparities remain sharp, especially between cities and rural or remote areas.

Zakaria's time in China is just one of the highlights of her career that has drawn intense media scrutiny, following her brief and tumultuous appointment as White House press secretary. A White House official told Ofoq News earlier that Zakaria lived in China with her husband.

Zakaria said in her LinkedIn profile that she worked as an “associate” in the international practice team at Zhong Lun, one of the largest Beijing law firms in the country, for about two years starting in 2011. Zakaria said in a statement that she “practiced international commercial law, and had all the required qualifications.”

According to the US Department of Justice, a license to practice law in China is only granted to its citizens, so it is not clear what qualifications she may have obtained.