Trump's America During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad