As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period 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 undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump 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 most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
