Trump's United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

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

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad