Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad