The United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, 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 mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad