The America Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

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

On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad