When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
