The United States Under the New Administration Feels Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad