The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad