The America During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad