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

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the 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 where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil 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 observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding 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 environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad