The America During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of 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 America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad