LAS VEGAS, Nevada — China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, was spotted with his staff at the Venetian resort Saturday evening before the annual gala dinner of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

It was not clear whether Ambassador Gang had been invited or had crashed the party.

Attendees with whom Ambassador Gang interacted during the cocktail reception that preceded dinner told Breitbart News that they had been told by Chinese officials that his appearance was coincidental.

The ambassador was not formally recognized from the podium during the evening’s events, which included speeches by several prominent Republican leaders, including former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Former President Donald Trump and other dignitaries had addressed the conference earlier on Saturday.

Haley even criticized China during her remarks, calling China the “number-old national security threat” to the United States. It was not clear whether she knew that the ambassador and his entourage had been present. Trump, earlier in the day, had spoken about his plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from China.

If, in fact, China was attempting to schmooze among prominent Republican politicians, as well as activists and donors to the party, it would not be the first time a foreign nation had attempted to do so specifically by targeting a Jewish organization.

During the Trump administration, the emirate of Qatar attempted, largely unsuccessfully, to improve its image in the U.S. by arranging meetings and trips to Doha.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Photo: file