As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
