The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences 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 is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad