Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.

But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain 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 reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad