Most admission committee knows that the recs of Chinese are usually written by the applicant. So it's unlikely to be a major factor. If a prof has strong ties with American institutions, then he/she will write the rec in his/her own, or at least revise the written rec a lot. A fake rec may ruin the prof's reputation
I used 3 associate prof recs 2 years ago. I don't think they played any positive or negative roles