Reports on Cindy Yang , the founder of a recently raided Florida massage parlour that allegedly offered sexual services, have turned the spotlight on social media pictures of her with US President Donald Trump and his family members. Yang, who emigrated from China to the US, reportedly set up a company in 2017 to sell Chinese clients access to the US president and prominent Republican politicians. Could Yang be another Maria Butina (a Russian woman charged in a US court with trying to influence US policy on Russia)? While the connection between Yang’s business activities and political contributions in the US is definitely worth investigating, we must refrain from characterising the case as an instance of China exerting its back-door political influence, unless new evidence becomes available. Undoubtedly, actual or perceived political influence in the US is highly bankable in China. I don’t know enough about Yang’s business dealings to judge whether any of her endeavours were related to the interests of the Chinese government. Based on my own experience, I know there is a market demand for a Trump connection from Chinese businessmen and other private citizens whose vanity outweighs their political agenda. This is no Chinagate. Since Trump was elected, I have received more than my fair share of proposals from Chinese friends and strangers seeking access to Trump, because his son-in-law Jared Kushner was my former business partner. The wildest proposal was from a Chinese company offering to build the border wall between the US and Mexico gratis! A more frequent inquiry involves tickets to events featuring Trump or his immediate family. The strong demand from China has created a cottage industry of people monetising a quick Trump connection. These business opportunities did not appeal to me as I found it distasteful to exploit a business or personal relationship. I was also concerned about legality. US campaign finance law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to US political campaigns or candidates. Trump will let you take a photo with him for US$100,000 Many of the ticketed events featuring Trump involve political fundraising. Holding such events for US citizens or permanent residents only, in strict compliance with the law, would mean a very small pool of prospects for the Chinese market. Not to mention that qualified buyers of tickets would not need to pay a premium for something they could sign up for themselves. I also learned that targeted customers were not buying tickets to support a cause. They also understood that it would be hard to guarantee the appearance of Trump or his family. Sure enough, Trump had to tend to a partial government shutdown and was a no-show for the most recent New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago. On WeChat, I found an online advertisement for a March 10 Republican fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago. The flier promised a breakfast with Trump, featuring Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Florida Senator Rick Scott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The guests would mingle with “US political and business elite, super billionaires, members of the Congress and White House officials”. The flier referred to the citizenship or permanent residency requirement for a photo op with Trump. However, citizenship or permanent residency was not mentioned as a prerequisite for purchasing tickets to the event. While I wouldn’t be surprised if any ticket buyer had fantasised about currying political favour, I seriously doubt many would be motivated by a desire to influence US politics. I t’s human nature to be fascinated by celebrities, and the Chinese are no exception. But here is the thing: why do these businessmen travel all the way from China to have a picture taken with Trump, who has started a trade war with their country and presumably undermined their businesses back home? Why talk of Chinese influence in the US is seriously misleading Whom are they trying to impress? The answer lies in the photo op: ticket buyers believe that a picture with Trump would translate into bragging rights and perhaps a promotional opportunity. A Chinese businessman told Yahoo Finance he flew 17 hours to attend the New Year’s Eve event at Mar-a-Lago in the hope that the experience would burnish his image and enhance the valuation of his company ahead of a public listing. Therefore, it seems these Chinese are not buying real influence, ingratiating themselves with Trump or gaining access to concrete business opportunities in the US. Rather, they are hyping up their perceived influence to an audience in China. We call this “round-trip publicity”, a stunt similar to buying an ad on a digital billboard in Times Square, with the knowledge that although few Americans would bother to pay attention, the footage could be transmitted back to China and monetised. Chiu-Ti Jansen, with advanced degrees from Yale and Columbia, is the founder of multimedia platform China Happenings and a former corporate partner of international law firm Sidley Austin