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

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring 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 China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad