When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump 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 economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
