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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad