Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. 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”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment 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 acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad