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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once 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 criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad