Trump's America During the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

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

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era 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 Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad