When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
