As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
