Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars 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 China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised 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 by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad