As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn 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 startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
