The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad