The United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive 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 correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad