The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

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

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad