Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad