Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, 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 declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad