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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, 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 students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of 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, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad