The United States Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start 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 the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined 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 these days than say anything bad