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

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, 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 the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

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

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad