Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

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 have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad