When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform 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 ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, 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 … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
