When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called 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 hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
