The United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism 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 the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

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

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

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 it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad