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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America 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 symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

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

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad