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

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring 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, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

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

On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad