The America Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is 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 the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state 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 other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention 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 Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad