The United States Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years 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 shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad