Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad