The America During the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

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

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad