The America Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

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

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad