The United States During the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of 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 divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad