The America During the New Administration Feels Oddly Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad