As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … 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 there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented 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 government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
