Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad