The United States Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

However in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad