Trump's America Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

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

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders 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. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “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 notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad