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

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into 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 the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad