Trump's United States During the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad