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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. 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, though without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

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

On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad