The United States During the New Administration Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

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

Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad