When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America 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 to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention 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 reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
