The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

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

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad