The America Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. 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 blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad