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

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems 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, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on 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 execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling 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 overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

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

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad