The United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad