Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman who has deep ties to Russia, is offering advice to a Chinese billionaire on how to win construction contracts for the US president’s promised $1tn infrastructure buildout.
Mr Manafort met Yan Jiehe, the billionaire founder of Pacific Construction, in Shanghai last Tuesday. Before the meeting Mr Yan told the Financial Times that Mr Manafort — who has represented leaders in the Philippines, Angola and Ukraine — would help him to navigate the expected US infrastructure boom.
Speaking in a conference room decorated with Chinese classical paintings and overlooking Shanghai’s financial district, Mr Yan pointed to a US map and outlined his ambition to win infrastructure deals in the world’s largest economy. “The map that we’ve hung up here is for Trump’s special envoy, Paul,” Mr Yan said.