The United States During the New Administration Feels Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.

However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad