When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
