The America During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models 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 as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become 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 sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad