The America During the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad