The America Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad