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

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain 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 required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad