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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the year since the president 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, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs 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 attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad