The America During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.

However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … 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, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

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

Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face 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.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad