When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, 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 similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. 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
