Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump 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 brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad