The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China 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 the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad