The United States During the New Administration Feels Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad