Trump's America During the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad