Trump's America Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

But in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad