As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable 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,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
