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

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, 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 countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad