The United States Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

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

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “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 developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad