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

As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided 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 the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing 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 stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US 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, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad