The America Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – 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 never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible 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 the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad