The United States Under the New Administration Feels Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised 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 inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad