Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

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

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad