The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing 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, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad