Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad